Until You Love Me
by Scarlet has Fantasy Issues
Summary: "I want to know why the great gods made you the other half of my heart..." Nuada/OC WARNING: Nuada may be OOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my second attempt at writing a Prince Nuada/OC story. A few people liked my first one shot for Hellboy and some didn't care enough to review. That's okay. I had this under my belt to begin with and I've been playing around with the idea for awhile now. Here we go…**

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A dark haired woman cleared away the remains of a meal, collecting the tip off the table with a small frown.

_A dollar? Why just a dollar?_ The thought crossed her mind as she turned slowly and headed back towards the kitchen, dumping the food scraps in the trash. _Did I do something wrong?_

"Brynn! More coffee please!" someone called. "And try not to get any feathers in it!"

Brynn rolled her eyes and grabbed the coffee pot off the machine, telling herself not to get angry at the man. He meant everything in a teasing manner, but sometimes she didn't want to hear it about her feathers. At the thought, her wings ruffled behind her and things in the kitchen shook.

"Coming Meyers!" she called back, pushing her way out of the swinging door of the kitchen.

The man smiled at her as she approached his end of the counter. "Brynn, don't you know you work too hard? An _angel_ like you should be doing other things."

"What? You think I should be in the Vatican City with the pope?" Brynn teased, letting her wings open a little as she refilled his cup with fresh coffee. "Or should I be saving the world with Hellboy?"

Thunder roared overhead, shaking the windows with the boom. The two glanced up as the door to the little restaurant opened. A pale man entered the restaurant, his eyes searching the room. Brynn couldn't help but stare at him until he found himself a booth in the back, near the window.

"Who is he?" Brynn asked, noticing the Meyers had stiffened at the sight of the man.

"No one you should be associating yourself with Brynn," Meyers stated, chugging down his coffee. "He means trouble."

"But who is he?" Brynn repeated, glancing over at the man again.

"No one," Meyers muttered, awkwardly shuffling to his feet and pulling a twenty out of his pocket. "Keep the change." Brynn reached for the money as he laid it on the counter, but Meyers put his hand on top of hers. "Be careful."

Brynn was confused, but she threw him a small smile. "I will."

With a last nervous smile and look at the pale man in the back corner, Meyers pulled on his coat and walked out into the storm. Brynn watched him walk away until he faded away into the darkness and placed the money in the cash register. With a sigh, she brushed her dark hair behind her ear and made her way around the counter towards the pale man.

His hair was the white with the touch of silver and long. Strange black scars crossed over his face, but they were thin enough to go mostly unnoticed. His build was that of an athlete, a warrior of the past even and Brynn knew that he would stand taller than her by at least eight inches. He gave off the feeling of power as she approached him and something about him called to her, recognizing another from another world, but she didn't know what it meant.

"Hello, I'm Brynn. I'll be your waitress today," she said, using her welcoming line. "Can I get you a drink?"

The man didn't look at her. He just stared out the window. "Tea."

"Would you like lemon with your tea?"

"No."

"All right."

Brynn turned and went to get what he wanted. One of the other waitresses came up next to her as she poured some sweet tea into the man's cup. She leaned towards Brynn as she reached for a cup herself.

"Who's the new guy?" she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't get his name," Brynn muttered, grabbing a straw from the container. "And he doesn't look like the sociable type."

"He's cute for a…whatever clique he's from..." She smiled slightly. "You're single."

"Caroline, what is your point?"

"Ask him out."

"Oh yeah, right." Brynn rolled her eyes and grabbed the drink once more. "I'm not going to ask out some random stranger. That's your territory."

Caroline made a face at Brynn and went back to filling her cup. Brynn hurried over to the pale man in the corner and set the drink in front of him.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked. "Today is the salad special. A fruit salad if I remember…"

"That would be fine," the strange man said, still not looking at her.

Brynn scribbled down his order and walked off to the relay it to the cook. She paused in the kitchen, looking at her reflection in one of the pots.

Her dark hair which normally tumbled in waves about her shoulders was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She scrutinized her gray-blue eyes, trying to picture the blue that her mysterious father's eyes were. Were they bright, crystal blue or were they a navy blue? Her soft, pale skin covered high cheekbones and she had a small nose with full, kissable lips.

_There's no point to have kissable lips unless there's someone to kiss_, Brynn thought, letting her wings stretch out a little again. _I don't understand why I haven't found a decent date since high school._

"Order up," the cook grunted, pushing the tray of food towards her.

Brynn took the meal and skirted past Caroline on her way out of the kitchen. She walked over to the pale man's booth and set his meal down before him. He still didn't turn his eyes away from the window. Brynn didn't expect him to do anything, so she turned to leave.

A sudden, solid hold on her arm made her jerk to a stop. Brynn looked down at her arm in alarm and saw a tense pale hand gripping her just above the wrist. Her eyes travelled up a visibly tense arm and up to the amber eyes of the man.

"Why do you subject yourself to working in the lowest job of the earth?" he asked in a voice that was smooth like velvet but cut like a knife. "An angel of your breeding should not lower itself to serving others."

"It puts food on the table and money in my pocket," Brynn muttered, trying to pull her hand back. "Now, please let me go. I have patrons to check on."

The man pulled his hand back, releasing her. Brynn didn't look back as she walked away. She glanced down at her arm as she set the tray down on an empty table. It was red where he had grasped it, but it didn't hurt. Brynn dismissed it as someone just being weird and started cleaning away another table vacated by patrons.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn checked her cell phone as she waited for the last patron to finish their meal. It was a little before ten and the last patron was the pale faced man who had asked her the strange question. He had ordered two refills of tea and had not requested dessert. Brynn didn't understand why he wasn't paying the bill and leaving yet.

"You know, I think he wants to talk to you," Caroline commented with a smile as she slipped on her jacket. "He's going to get you all alone and pluck up the courage to speak to you."

"He doesn't seem like the type who lacks courage."

"Maybe so…" She shouldered her purse. "I'll see you later."

Brynn nodded and watched her friend walk out of the restaurant. She sighed and pulled on the ties of her apron, releasing the knot. She shoved the apron under the counter and grabbed a rag. She wiped down the counter, trying to stall for time. She really didn't want to go over to see if that pale man wanted to talk to her. It was almost certain that he wanted to talk about her wings again.

"Brynn," someone said and Brynn looked up to find herself looking into the stranger's amber eyes.

"Can I help you, sir?" Brynn asked, pausing in her actions.

The man smirked and turned away, walking out of the restaurant. Brynn stared after him for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. She grabbed a spare tray and walked over to the man's vacated table, cleaning away his empty plate and cups. A fifty lay on the table and Brynn stared at it for a moment, wondering if it was a mistake, but something told her that the pale man didn't make mistakes.

Her cell phone rang and Brynn pulled it out of her pocket, answering it. "Hello?"

"Brynn…is that man still there?" Meyers asked.

"No. He left a couple of minutes ago." She heard Meyers swear. "Meyers, who is he?"

"A very dangerous man," Meyers told her. "If he smelled the human in you, you could be in danger."

"Meyers -"

"I've got to go Brynn. Stay safe and make Charles walk you to your car tonight, Understand?"

"I'm not making Charles do anything."

"Fine. Just stay safe."

The phone went dead and Brynn shoved it back in her pocket. She hurried back into the kitchen and washed the dishes as the cook finally finished cleaning his pots and pans. He smiled at her as they exited the kitchen and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You do a good job today," he said. "We've had more customers in the past couple of weeks than before. And you didn't get feathers in their food. Good job."

Brynn smiled at him as she grabbed her purse from underneath the counter. "Thanks Charles. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Charles said, waving a dismissive hand as he grabbed the money tray from the register and took it back into the manager's office. "Bye."  
Brynn hurried out of the restaurant and a gentle rain came down on her. She saw her car across the parking lot, waiting for her. With remembrance of Meyers' words, Brynn pulled out her car keys and fixed them so that they poked out from between her fingers.

Lightning flashed overhead and Brynn shivered as rain slid down the back of her neck, casting a glance up towards the heavens.

_Are you up there watching me, Dad? _Brynn thought as she continued on towards her car. _Do you feel good knowing that you've abandoned your child and the woman you said you loved? Do you even care what happens to us?_

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled through the clouds. Brynn sighed and reached forward to grip the handle of her door, ready to unlock the door. Another flash of lightning and she saw the pale man reflected in the window. She gasped and turned around to find herself face to face with him.

"What – what do you want?" she asked, taking a step back as he studied her with those cold amber eyes of his.

"Why gaze towards the stars longingly and never take flight?" the man asked. "Why do you serve others when they should serve you?"

"Enough of the twenty questions," Brynn snapped, feeling an unusual flash of anger course through her. "I don't know who you think you are or what you want, but I have friends who will kick your ass if you don't leave me alone!"

The man smirked. "I am Prince Nuada."

The name didn't ring a bell, but she felt like it should have. Otherwise, Meyers wouldn't have been so worried about her and the guy. Brynn reached behind her and fit the key in the lock, but was still prepared to lash out with the keys.

_Don't hurt him_…

Brynn was unsure why the thought crossed her mind, but she suddenly felt sick at the thought of hurting him. Something was wrong with her and all she knew was that he had something to do with it.

"What do you want?" Brynn demanded, turning her key behind her, so that the click wasn't so audible.

Nuada advanced on her slowly, never taking his eyes off hers. "I want the race of humans to disappear. I want the old ways to restored where our people would stand tall and in peace. The angels, the elves, and the rest of the old creatures." He cast her a wry smile. "I want to understand why the great gods chose to make you the other half of my heart."

Brynn stared at him. "You're crazy. I'm getting out of here."

She turned around and pulled open her car door. Nuada had a hand on the door, barring her entrance. Brynn stared at him in shock, wondering how he had moved so fast. His eyes were softer as they looked at her this time, a slight warmth coming from within the cold flames of his eyes.

"Do not run," he ordered quietly. "I am here to help you, to serve you just as my people have for centuries. The angels are of the highest order, but…" His nostrils flared. "Your noble blood has been tainted by the humans…" Brynn gulped and took another step back, but he grabbed her arm once more, holding her fast. "Still, my heart calls for you as it has since the moment I came back into this forsaken world…Why?"

"I don't know," Brynn whispered, shaking her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please, let me go…"

Nuada looked down at her, worry causing a small line to appear between his brows. "Am I hurting you?"

"No, but…" She frowned and tried pulling her arm away. "I have to go home. My mother is sick. She needs me."

"Your mother?" Nuada's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your human mother…"

"What difference does it make if she's human or not? That doesn't make her any less worthy of being helped." Brynn pointed at her chest. "It only matters what's in her heart. That's all."

"A hollow human heart counts for nothing," Nuada spat, his calm breaking for a second.

"Let me go," Brynn ordered, pulling on her arm once more. "I have to take care of her."

In her struggle to get her arm free, Brynn's arm hit the door and she sucked her breath in sharply, wincing in pain. Nuada lifted his hand and touched her arm. Brynn winced again, but couldn't pull herself away.

"You hurt yourself," he said. "Why?"

"You won't let me go…"

Brynn's wings ruffled slightly and her car trembled next to her and Nuada. He glanced at her and then past her. Brynn could hear sirens and knew that someone was coming.

"You should go," Brynn said, suddenly concerned for his safety. "The people coming…they mean business when it comes to freaks like us…"

Nuada looked at her for a moment and then leaned towards her, pressing his lips to her forehead. She closed her eyes at the contact and when she opened them, he was gone. Men in black jackets came running around her and Brynn pulled her wings up over her head to shield her face from the glare of the lights and the rain.

"Brynn, are you all right?" Meyers asked, rushing over to her side. "Did he hurt you?"

Brynn shook her head, staring through the rain at him. "No…I mean…I'm fine. He didn't hurt me."

Meyers didn't look convinced as his eyes scanned over her person. Brynn unconsciously hid the arm that had hit the car door behind her back, not wanting him to see the bruise that she could feel forming there. It didn't hurt much and she knew that it would be gone in a day or two, so why have him worry about it?

"I know you were talking with him," Meyers said finally, finding nothing visibly wrong with her. "I heard you."

"Geez Meyers, you're spying on me now?" Brynn felt a wave of anger flash through her again. "Why can't you Bureau people leave me alone? I haven't done anything –"

"But he has. Terrible things," Meyers cut across her. He sighed. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"No," Brynn stated firmly. "Mom is sick and I have to go home to her."

"Brynn -"

"Back off Meyers!"

Brynn's wings opened completely and she glared at him threateningly. The white wings stretched well over ten feet and beating them once would have sent the men flying backwards. Meyers knew about that and took a step back, his hand resting on the butt of his gun.

"Brynn…think about what you're doing," Meyers said calmly, lifting one hand out to her imploringly. "You're surrounded by thirty men with guns and they won't hesitate to shoot you if you attack us."

Brynn glanced around at the people around her. She felt fear creep inside her, quenching the flames of anger with cold tendrils. "I just…Meyers, I need to see my mom. She's really sick."

"I know." Meyers removed his hand from his gun. "Right now, I need you to close your wings. Slowly."

Brynn nodded and slowly closed her wings. Tears shone in her eyes and the rain started coming down harder. She was scared, of what she didn't know. With a frown, she looked up at the sky and let her tears mix with the rain.

Meyers' next words fell on deaf ears as he took her car keys and passed them onto another man who was clothed in black. Brynn allowed herself to be guided to a vehicle and climbed in the back without saying a word. She closed her eyes against her tears and bowed her head so that her dark hair created a curtain between her and the other people in the vehicle. All she wanted was to go home to her mother and go to bed, but she had a feeling her encounter with Prince Nuada had just changed her life. For better or for worse, she wasn't ready to find out.

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**A/N: I'm not sure if I can keep Nuada in his royal attitude throughout the whole story. I can try to keep him in it for as long as possible, but I know I'll fail. So if you don't like seeing our great dark prince out of character, I suggest you stick around to judge me and correct me where I'm wrong. Flames are acceptable which means you can criticize me and hate me, but in a later chapter, you may find out hate is not needed. Anyway, review! Thanks! ~Scarlet**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Only a couple of people liked what I did with that last chapter, but more people read it. I'm hoping that more people will want to read and review this story, but favorite-ing this story is almost as good, so thanks to you guys too! On with this chapter…**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn stared at the glass wall across from her, watching the people walk by. Curious onlookers had gathered, never having seen an angel before. Even a half-breed was something to behold, she guessed. She didn't understand why she had to be there and then she saw a man in a curious suit approaching her.

The only way she could describe his attire was that it looked like one of those old deep sea diver suits. She stared at the helmet, but saw no face. There was just a swirly white gas where a face should have been. Brynn frowned and sat back, feeling unseen eyes upon her. Then Meyers came in and she felt her temper simmer once more.

"Good evening, Ms. McKae," the thing in the suit said. "I am Johann Krauss. I will be asking you some questions."

"I'd prefer if you didn't," Brynn muttered, looking away from him as Meyers took a seat across from her. "I don't know anything useful."

"On the contrary, I believe you know many useful things," Krauss stated, remaining standing. "You know that you are an angel, but of what type you don't know."

"And I suppose you do."

"Not yet, Ms. McKae." Krauss turned and started pacing. "You can feel things through people. You can tell when they're saddened, mad, or any of the raw emotions… You know when someone is about to die. Your sadness correlates with the weather."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Brynn said, crossing her arms. "A lot of people are sad when it rains."

"Yes, but I believe there is more to it than that," Krauss commented, raising a finger. "I believe you are either a seraph or an angel of death."

Brynn felt a chill settle over her as he said those words. All she wanted was to get out of there. "What does it matter what kind of angel I am? I'm a half breed. I can't even fly."

"You've never tried?"

Meyers smiled slightly as he glanced over his shoulder at Krauss. "She's got a problem with heights."

Brynn sent him a scathing look and her wings twitched. The wall of glass behind Meyers and Krauss trembled slightly, causing the curious onlookers to step back.

"Fascinating," Krauss breathed. "So, when you are angered, your wings open and cause a wave of energy that is rather like an earthquake. That is quite fascinating."

"Are you going to ask me questions or are you just going to ogle over my breeding?" Brynn snapped, glaring at each man in turn.

"Brynn, you need to calm down," Meyers said in a calm voice, holding a hand out. "We're not here to hurt you. We just want to talk."

The angel glared at him but closed her wings up again. She waited impatiently for Meyers to speak again.

Meyers cleared his throat. "Brynn, we've had you under surveillance for a few days now."

"Why?" Brynn demanded in an icy voice.

"We have made contact with someone who believes that a very dangerous prince has come back from the dead," Meyers announced, flipping through a file that he had brought with him. "We have news that he's in town and that he's looking for something…"

"I don't see how this involves me."

"The two of us saw him tonight." Meyers stated, looking at her with his very blue eyes. "He was sitting in the back corner booth by the window and he didn't leave until five after ten. Then he approached you at your vehicle. From there, you two discussed something before we showed up."

"Can't I just talk to a random guy?" Brynn asked.

"Not this guy," Krauss said. "He's a prince. Prince Nuada of the Unseen Kingdom."

Brynn sighed. "So, I talked to this Prince what's-his-height…"

"Prince Nuada," Krauss corrected.

"Whatever." Brynn looked at Meyers. "He didn't tell me anything. He questioned why I served others and then he made me bang my arm against my car door when he wouldn't let me go. That was it."

"He must have told you something more," Meyers insisted, searching her eyes. "He must have said something. Anything…Nuada leaves clues behind when he visits someone. Think Brynn. Think back to your conversation with him."

Brynn frowned. "He didn't say anything else. Seriously, he didn't."

Meyers didn't look like he believed her. Brynn's frown deepened and she leaned forward, looking him directly in the eye.

"Listen, I'm telling you the truth. He didn't tell me anything else…He just questioned me. Then he left." She looked down. "After he pressed a kiss to my forehead."

"That doesn't sound like Nuada," Meyers commented. "He must know that you're part human…but you are the last angel on earth, half breed or not. He must want something from you."

"_I want to understand why the great gods chose to make you the other half of my heart."_

Brynn puzzled over those words, wondering if she should say them aloud so that the two men could hear. The words didn't make sense to her. How could she be half of someone's heart if she hadn't even known the guy before? It didn't make any sense at all.

"May I be of assistance?" a soft, beautiful voice asked, breaking Brynn out of her reverie.

Brynn stared up at a beautiful pale woman. Her soft platinum blonde hair fell straight around her shoulders and she had warm amber eyes. She wore a beautiful gold dress and Brynn felt like she knew her, or at least, that she was somewhat familiar.

"Princess Nuala, we have the situation under control," Krauss stated, giving a little bow.

"Princess?" Brynn was on her feet in a flash. "You're Nuada's sister!"

Nuala smiled a soft smile. "Yes. I am Nuada's sister…his twin."

"What the hell does your brother want with me?" Brynn demanded, trying to glare at the woman, but finding it hard to stay mad the longer she looked at Nuala.

"I do not know," Nuala said, crossing the room and lifting a hand. "But if you give me a hand, perhaps I can find out what else my brother left behind with you."

Brynn hid her hand behind her. "I don't think so."  
"Ms. McKae, I believe it would be wise for you to do as the princess requests," Krauss stated, gesturing at her. "It is not as invasive as you believe it to be. Nuala will just go through your memories of tonight. Nothing more."

"Meyers…?" Brynn cast a glance over in his direction.

"It's for the best Brynn. You can leave when she's done," Meyers assured her, closing the file.

Brynn saw that Nuala was still holding her hand out. She sighed and lifted her hand, touching her palm to Nuala's. Nuala's eyes became unfocused for a moment, searching Brynn's memories.

"You thought he was strange," Nuala commented, a line appearing on her forehead as her brow furrowed with concentration. "He said your name and then left the restaurant, leaving you curious about his motives. Nuada scared you when he cornered you at your car, but you felt drawn to him…" Nuala's amber eyes locked on Brynn's. "He said that you were the other half of his heart…"

Brynn pulled her hand away abruptly, severing the connection. "There! You know everything. Now let me go home Meyers or so help me, I'll force my way through every single wall in this place!"

"You must keep your temper," Krauss commented, holding up a finger. "We are not the enemy, Ms. McKae."

"You could have fooled me," Brynn muttered, backing away from the three people in the room. "And for your information, Nuada doesn't seem like a bad man…"

"Elf," Meyers corrected quietly.

"Whatever. I don't honestly care."

"He'll kill you if you make the mistake of associating him with human males," Krauss pointed out.

"No," Nuala whispered, drawing the attention of the men. "He will not kill her. My brother believes there is a strong magic brewing in his heart, calling him to her. Already, he feels protective of her." She closed her eyes for a moment. "He is here, waiting for you to release her."

Meyers stood up quickly, placing his hands on the glass table. "Brynn, I'm afraid we can't let you leave."

"Oh yes you can!" Brynn snapped, glaring at Meyers. "I have someone who's counting on me to come home to her. I'm already late enough as it is. Nuada doesn't scare me."

"You need to calm down," Meyers said as the glass table trembled, scooting back an inch towards the glass wall. "Brynn, we only want to help you."

"Then let me go!" Brynn ordered, her wings trembling as she fought to keep them closed.

_Come to me…_

The words were whispered in her ear, echoing in her head. Brynn felt her anger subside and a new, strange calm came sweeping over her like a wave. Her wings stopped trembling and her fists unclenched.

"I am leaving," she told Meyers. "You can try to stop me, but I'm going to leave. Mother needs me."

"You can't leave," Krauss said, but Brynn ignored him.

Brynn walked over to one of the doors and pulled it open. The curious onlookers parted, giving her room to walk, but she saw a few of them had drawn their guns. She opened her wings slightly, threateningly.

"Hey giant bird woman," someone called from behind her. "Where's the fire?"  
Brynn didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice she had heard so many times on the television in the past couple of months. "Go away Hellboy. I'm heading home."

"That sounds like a good idea," Hellboy said, appearing by her side. "But there's a little problem with that. You can't leave while Prince Darkness is still out there."

"Do you honestly think you can stop me?" Brynn asked as she continued walking towards the exit.

"I don't think. I know." He smirked. "I've beaten people who were scarier and bigger than you."

Brynn opened her wings and beat them once. Hellboy was sent flying into a wall. "Leave me alone."

She got onto the elevator that she had been escorted off of an hour ago. It didn't move, but that didn't matter to her.

_God give me the courage to do this_, she thought, closing her eyes as her wings flapped and sent her propelling upwards at a very fast pace. _And please don't let me hit my head and fall…_

Someone was obviously thinking the same thing because the ceiling opened up for her and she made it out safely. She landed awkwardly, feeling weak in the knees, but couldn't let that slow her down. The guard at the front desk of the building was already calling for backup and a complete lockdown of the compound.

Brynn closed her wings and started running for the exit. She burst through the front doors and ran out into the night, feeling unseen eyes on her. The front gate of Bureau's headquarters was open and the men who guarded it were on the ground. Brynn leaped over them and their dogs, heading for the only place she could go. Home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: I feel like I should have involved Abe somewhere in here, but he just wasn't in the storyline when I thought this scene out. Hellboy just made a minor appearance, but he and Nuala will be making more appearances later. Maybe Abe and Liz will show up too, who knows?**

**Please review. I desperately crave reviews, so anything you tell me will go a long way. Please and thank you. ~ Scarlet**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, I see you like this story so far, judging by all of the favorites that I see posted on here. That makes me happy because I've wanted to write a Hellboy story for a very long time. A good one, at that. So, thanks for what reviews come my way and let's get on with the story.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn didn't stop running until she was home. She felt eyes on her the entire time and felt like someone had been following her. There was no one around when she looked, but no comfort came from the lack of people following her. She quickly pulled her spare key out of her pocket and opened the front door to her mother's little house.

She crept in quietly and locked the door securely behind her. Brynn trekked around the lower level of the house, making sure the doors and the windows were locked. She didn't want any unwelcome intruders in the night.

"Brynn? Is that you?" her mother's weak voice came floating down the stairs.

"Yeah Mom," Brynn said, dropping her purse on the living room table before hurrying up the stairs. "I'm sorry I'm so late, but Meyers wanted to talk."

Her mother smiled weakly at her, her graying hair clinging to her skull thanks to the cold sweat that seemed to cling to her all the time these days. Brynn remembered the days when Daria McKae was a healthy, vibrant woman, bustling about her kitchen making treats for her small baking business. But ever since she had contracted the flu and then pneumonia, she had been confined to her bed and could not make anything. Brynn was the money maker in the family now, but she had hoped that her mother would soon recover.

"Meyers is a good lad," Daria commented, resting her hands over the blanket. "He looks out for you…I'm so glad you've found a friend in him."

Brynn nodded, keeping her mouth shut about how she really felt about Meyers at that moment. She didn't want to upset her mother.

"Maybe one day, you two will admit you have feelings for each other," Daria said quietly, her gray eyes twinkling with a dim light. "Then you -"

"Mom, I met someone today," Brynn cut across her mother before she could go back into her fantasy of having Brynn and Meyers get married. "A prince."

"A prince? Ooh, that sounds interesting. My daughter meeting a prince. What's his name?"

"Nuada."

"That sounds like a foreign name, but a powerful one." Daria settled back against her pillows. "It's a warrior's name…What is he the prince of, Brynn?"

"Apparently a really old kingdom…the Unseen Kingdom." Brynn shook her head. "And he has a twin sister…"

"Twins...from the Unseen Kingdom?" Daria's brow furrowed as she processed the information. "Are they beautiful?"

"Nuala is very beautiful…Nuada…he's…attractive."

Daria smiled knowingly. "You find him _very _attractive, don't you?" She laughed lightly. "Oh, how quickly you fall for the good looking."

"I don't fall for them quickly Mom," Brynn muttered, crossing her arms. "And I'm not about to fall head over heels in love with Nuada."

"But I think it's a little late to be telling yourself that. I think you've been struck by love at first sight." Her smile turned a little sad. "What will Meyers think?"

"Trust me when I say that he's not pleased that I met Nuada. He jumped from simple flirting to over protective monster in about five seconds."

"Surely he's not that bad."

"He's worse."

"Oh." Daria's eyes wandered over to the television that rested at the foot of her bed for a moment. "One of the Bureau guards came here and delivered your car keys. I don't know how they came in, but I trust they didn't take anything. The Bureau has been so helpful since they found out about you."

"I know Mom."

"They helped you find a job and made sure that we were cared for." Daria looked around the room as if drinking the whole scene in. "We were lucky to be blessed with their help. Don't forget their kindness Brynn. Don't forget to show it back to them."  
Brynn inwardly flinched. She knew if her mother found out about what had transpired tonight at the Bureau that it would upset her. Daria didn't need to be upset in her condition.

_Meyers better keep his mouth shut about this_, Brynn thought with a frown. _If he upsets her and makes her relapse…I'll kill him. I really will._

"Brynn, you look tired," Daria commented, looking at her daughter once more. "You should go get your shower and get to bed. You've had a long day."

"All right Mom." Brynn leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," Daria yawned, closing her eyes. "See you in the morning."

Brynn turned off the television and turned out the light. She quietly crept out of the room, closing the door behind her. She stood there in the hallway for a moment, listening to the rain patter on the roof. Her ears strained to hear the sounds of cars pulling to a stop outside the house and the door bursting open, but there was only the rain.

_Don't let me get paranoid_, she sent her silent prayer up to the heavens as she wandered into the bathroom where her nightclothes sat waiting – her mother's doing no doubt. _And please let Mom get better. She's a good woman and doesn't deserve to be sick like this…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The heat of the shower relaxed her, making her feel sleepy. She carefully blow dried her wings and then moved onto her hair, brushing out the tangles. Sometimes she wondered what her life would be like if she didn't have these wings. Would she miss them? Would she miss the connection to her mysterious father? Would Meyers have even taken an interest in her?

_And what about Nuada?_

Brynn shook her head. She didn't want to think about Nuada. All she wanted to do was sleep and wake up to find that this had all be a dream. A really bad dream.

She quietly walked across the hall and entered her bedroom, leaving the lights off. Something solid caught her across the chest and pushed her against the door the instant she shut it behind her. A scream tore at her throat, but a hand closed over her mouth, effectively silencing her. Brynn stared wildly into two amber eyes and stopped struggling.

"You do not fight back," Nuada asked, his eyes searching hers in the darkness. "Why? Is it because you are untrained or because you are a coward?"

The hand over her mouth was removed, allowing Brynn to collect her breath once more. "I…can't hurt you," she whispered.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Brynn put a hand on the arm that pressed her against the door, only thinking of relieving the pressure on her chest. "Maybe because you're stronger, quicker, and more experienced than me."

"That's not all," Nuada said, looking down his nose at her. "Unconsciously, you are aware of the bond between me and my sister. To hurt me is to hurt her."

Brynn frowned and pushed against him, trying to put some distance between her and him. "Um…your elbow is kind of hurting me…I can't breathe properly."

Nuada pulled his arm back, finally relieving the pressure he had put on Brynn's chest. Brynn coughed and her wings rustled, her eyes lifting to meet his again.

"What are you doing here?" Brynn demanded quietly. "Don't you know that the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations probably has this house bugged? They could be on their way right now…"  
She walked past him and turned on a lamp, checking under it for a bug. She didn't find one. Nuada chuckled lightly.

"You won't find what's not there, little angel," he commented once she turned around to see what was so funny. "Humans are not as dumb as they used to be."

"Well, somehow they're spying on me," Brynn muttered, crossing her arms. "They knew we talked."

Nuada's stare lowered down to her neckline and Brynn glanced down, trying to figure out what he was staring at. "How long have you had that necklace?"

Brynn grasped the necklace lightly. "I've had it for as long as I can remember. Hellboy's father gave it to me when I was a little girl." She smiled slightly. "He told me that it would keep me safe from the evils of the world…that since it was of the Virgin Mary, she would protect me as long as I believed in her."

Nuada's lips curled up in a smirk. "There's your answer."

Brynn looked down at the necklace and glowered. "So…" She yanked on the necklace, breaking the chain. "Even the wise professor lied to me. So much for a father figure in my life…"

"What else can you expect of a human?"

Brynn threw the necklace at him, not caring that he caught it easily. "It doesn't matter if you're human or if you're something else. We all lie. It's for self preservation in most cases." She shrugged and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Some people just lie more than most."

"Humans lie more than most."

Brynn looked him out of the corner of her eye. "Why do you hate humans so much? Is it because they took your land?"

"The land was not anyone's to take, but no. That is not why I hate the humans."

Brynn's brow furrowed as memories that were not hers flashed through her mind, flashing before her eyes in rapid succession. "You hate them because of their greed that consumes the world a little more each day. They killed hundreds of your kind –"

"Hundred s of _our _kind," Nuada corrected, closing his fist tightly over the necklace in his hand.

Brynn looked at him. "But our kind killed thousands of them…with and without the indestructible army…"

They were silent for a moment. Nuada, watching her with cold eyes and Brynn was settling her thoughts down. She didn't want to have these memories that were not hers.

"You can't hate all the humans," she whispered, looking down at her hands. "It's physically impossible to hate _all _humans because you don't know all of them."

"To know one human is to know all humans." Nuada slowly moved around the room, peering out the window.

Brynn was taken aback momentarily by the sadness in his eyes, the silver glow of his hair in the dim light of outside.

"You can't say that," Brynn told him quietly. "One human's life story is different than another. We were each made differently – different personalities, different backgrounds – every one of us are unique. So, you can hardly compare one person to another and judge them as the same because then you'd be lying."

"You sound like you've thought this through before," Nuada commented, glancing at her before looking once more out the window.

Brynn nodded with a sigh, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I used to hate humans…human children especially. Growing up, I was taunted by people my age because of my wings. I couldn't tell you how many times people pulled out feathers out or…the horrible names they called me. I thought there would be no end to the pain and I told my mother that I hated all humans for what they did to me…

"Mom, she told me that I couldn't hate all humans…that what I hated was a select few because there were other humans who were so kind about my wings. They treated me like I was normal and with the same respect that I gave them. She told me that no matter what the kids did to me that I couldn't hate everyone. I hated indifference, bullies and they only made up a small percent of the world…So five years ago, I gave up hating humans and now I only hate indifference."

"But the ones who persecuted you have gone unpunished," Nuada said, suddenly standing behind her. His hand grazed her wings, lightly caressing them. "How could you abandon your hate so easily?"

"Hate does nothing for your soul but drag it down with unnecessary weight. I wanted to be free of the weight so I could take off and enjoy life like it should be enjoyed. Without hate." Brynn glanced over her shoulder at him, suppressing a shiver at his touch. "I know it's not easy to give up the hate, especially when you've held onto it for so long. God, you must have held onto your hate for centuries." She winced as she saw images of his past flash through her mind through the connection they had. "It's horrible, black hate. Dark and all consuming."

"But you are not afraid?" Nuada said, tilting his head to one side, studying her face in profile.

"I…don't know how to explain how I'm not afraid of you," Brynn mumbled, resting her chin on her knees. "I just don't see anything scary about you…In fact, I almost feel _safe _with you."

"You recognize a kindred spirit…the other half of your heart," Nuada told her, moving around the bed as he severed the connection by lifting his hand away from her wings. "Ancient magic that bonds two people…Humans would call such a pair 'soul mates'."

"So, we're…soul mates?"

"As much as it pains me to be saddled with a human half breed…yes." Nuada looked down at her as he came to her side of the bed. "But your noble angel blood overshadows your petty human nature."

Brynn's eyebrow quirked up. "I don't think that was a compliment…"

"I do not give compliments freely."

"I thought so…" She sighed and stretched.

Nuada grabbed her arm, stopping her from putting back around her legs. Brynn felt his hands wander up to the back of her upper arm and touch the discolored part of her arm. "You were hurt earlier…"

"It's just a bruise. It'll heal in a day or so." Brynn tried to hide her wince when he touched it. "Seriously, it's nothing big. You've probably had worse…"

"I have, but…" He trailed off as he sat down next to her on the bed, keeping her in his grasp. "My people have served angels for centuries."

Brynn watched him turn the bruise towards his face and then he pressed his lips to the bruise. A shiver ran down her spine at the contact. His lips were warmer than his eyes, but they didn't stay on her skin for long. Just as suddenly as he had pressed his lips to her arm, he pulled them away. With a gentle hand, he pressed on the area where the bruise had been and Brynn didn't wince. There was no pain.

"How did you do that?" she asked, pulling her arm back in wonder.

"One day you'll be able to take care of such trifling wounds yourself," Nuada stated, looking at her with a soft smirk on his face.

Brynn rolled her eyes and stretched her legs out over the side of the bed. "I think I prefer to let them heal on their own. It takes less energy to let them heal on their own." She let out a little laugh. "I'm such a klutz anyway; I'd be healing minor injuries all the time."

The two were silent for a moment, lost in their own minds. A sudden coughing noise came from outside of the room. Brynn felt her heart break at the horrible hacking, retching sound coming from across the hall.

"Mom is real sick," she whispered, though she didn't know why she was telling this to Nuada. "She's had the flu and now pneumonia…nothing the doctors have done for her has helped her. She gets one or two days reprieve before she's sent back to bed again. I'm tired of hearing her suffer – she doesn't think I can hear her through my door unless she calls out my name, but I do hear her. Every night she suffers and every night, I'm afraid that it's going to be her last night and that I'll wake up one morning and she won't..."

"Then why do you let her suffer?" Nuada asked.

"It's not like I can do anything," Brynn mumbled, crossing her arms. "I don't understand anything about being an angel. Hell, I don't even know what kind of angel I am, so how could I even begin to try for mystic powers?"

Nuada looked down at her. "They never told you what kind of angel you were?"

"I wasn't asking to be put through a battery of tests…I know the Bureau, they like to run extensive, invasive tests on people." She shrugged. "I think I got off lucky tonight with the test they gave me…" Her eyes looked into his again. "I defended you. I don't know why – it could be this soul mate thing – but I did. Now my friends are against me. With this war of yours, you better know what you're doing because you now have me in the mix and I'm going to fight like hell to keep you from destroying humanity."

Nuada smirked and leaned in close to her, his breath touching her neck. "Go ahead and try my dear little angel."

In the blink of an eye, he was gone, taking with him the last will of Brynn to stay awake. _I just know I'm going to have nightmares tonight…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Kind of an awkward way to end a chapter, I think. And they don't seem to be getting any longer. I'm sorry. I like to keep my chapters short so that you guys may keep interest in it…I doubt that works, but oh well. **

**I'd like to have some reviews next time I open up my account, so please feel free to comment on anything so far. Thanks! ~ Scarlet**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I was waiting for more reviews. Sadly they didn't come, but happily I plunge on into this story once more…**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn felt herself start waking up, but she didn't want to resurface into the real world. She was very happy staying in the dream where she was with her Prince Charming. However, reality had another plan for her and she sighed as she opened her eyes, looking at the window where sunlight was pouring in.

_Was it all just a dream?_ Brynn thought, slowly throwing her legs over the side of the bed. _Did I just dream that Nuada was here? _

Absently, her hand went to her neck and touched smooth skin. The necklace of the Virgin Mary was missing.

_It wasn't a dream then…great._

Brynn opened the door to her bedroom and crossed the hall to her mother's room, expecting to see Daria asleep. The older woman was not in bed. Brynn heard something moving downstairs and heard someone talking.

"Mom?" Brynn called, hurrying down the stairs. "Mom, what are you doing out of bed?"

Daria smiled from the kitchen as she sipped her morning tea. "Brynn, I had to get up. You were sleeping like a baby…I was thirsty." She smiled and gestured at the tea cup. "I don't know where you found this tea, but it seems to have cleared away my cold."

"Tea?" Brynn's brow furrowed. _Nuada. _"Oh…a friend suggested that it would help you and gave me some…I guess it worked."

"It has."

"Who was this friend?" someone asked and Brynn's heart dropped into her stomach when she realized that she wasn't alone with her mother.

"Meyers, that's none of your business," Brynn hissed through her teeth, watching him flip a couple pancakes. Her eyes turned back to her mother. "What is he doing here?"

"Brynn, he came to check up on me," Daria said, looking astonished that her daughter could be so rude. "I don't much like the way you're talking about John. He's been nothing but nice to you." She frowned. "Are you two having a lover's spat over this new fellow in Brynn's life?"

"You could say that." Meyers set the pancakes in front of Daria and turned to look at Brynn. "Can we talk?"

Brynn rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking out of the kitchen. Meyers followed her into the living room.

"What do you want Meyers?" Brynn demanded, crossing her arms as she sat down on the arm of the overstuffed chair.

"I want to know why you ran away from the protection of the Bureau last night," Meyers said, looking at her. "We only want to protect you from Nuada."

"Nuada doesn't want to hurt me. He just… he has questions." Brynn ran a hand through her hair. "I think I can help him."

"That's what the Bureau is afraid of Brynn. Nuada wants to eradicate the human species and he'll use anyone to achieve his goal. Even you." He stood in front of her. "Listen, I don't know what he's told you, but you can't believe anything he tells you. If he wins you over – as the last angel on earth – who knows what damage could be done. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, but you won't have a choice if you follow his example."

"I can help him see the light."

Meyers smiled sadly. "Some people can't be helped."

"Every person is worthy of being helped, no matter what they've done in the past," Brynn shot back, glaring at him. "That's what the professor once told me and I know he would have applied that to everyone, including Nuada."  
"You didn't answer my first question. Why did you leave the Bureau last night?"

"Why? That's simple really. I'm not going to be your caged pet," Brynn told him, looking away. "I will not be stuck in one place with a bunch of people who ogle over me and have tests run to prove something that I could easily find out on my own."

"We just want to help you, Brynn." Meyers reached out and put a hand on her knee. "We don't want you to feel like you're trapped with us. We're not some wicked corporation like the IRS."

Brynn saw no humor in his statement like she once had. She knocked his hand off her knee and stood up, walking around him. Meyers sighed and ran a hand through his short brown hair.

"Why did you let him in your house last night?" Meyers asked. "You never let me in your house…"

Brynn shot him a look. "I didn't let him in my house. Meyers, he walked in on his own. I don't know how he got in…maybe through the window. It's not like I can trust anyone right now, but since he hasn't done anything to me and you almost trapped me in the Bureau, I'm starting to think that maybe you guys aren't as good as I once thought you were."

"Don't let him fool you – he's fooled Abe once before."

Brynn frowned. She had never known Abe to be fooled. He was usually the smartest one in the bunch and could seek out the smallest hint of treachery. She didn't know how many times she had tried to fool him without success.

"I don't plan on letting him fool me. I can sniff out a rat when I see one…Now, can you go? I don't want to have my mother see me mad…I don't know how well that tea will settle with her."

"You shouldn't have let her have any of it until we had it analyzed," Meyers commented, casting a glance in the direction of the kitchen. "We don't know if it's safe enough for her to ingest. And the effects may only be temporary."

"I don't sense anything bad about it and I don't sense my mother's death. It's still a long way off. So stop worrying and just go."

Meyers didn't look convinced. Brynn felt her irritation return. She walked over to him and poked him in the chest to get his attention back on her.

"Meyers, go back to the Bureau," she instructed softly. "Tell your bosses that I'm not cooperative, that I'm not in danger…tell them anything you want, but don't think for a minute that I'm going to give up and come quietly. Nuada might be the answer I'm looking for…"

"You don't seriously believe that he's going to help you figure out who your father was, do you?"

"Well, they're both from the Unseen world…" Meyers rolled his eyes and Brynn poked him again. "Hey! He's more open with me than he will ever be with you. I think he likes me."

"Of course he likes you! You're the last angel on the planet with powers that are unimaginable!"

Brynn took a step back, moving away from him. "What are you saying?"

"Brynn, get it through your head. Nuada is only out to use people to get what he wants. He could never, _never _love you because you're part of what he detests the most."

Brynn felt tears come to her eyes and heard a gentle rain start pattering against the windows. "And you think _you _could love me?"

Meyers swallowed and took a step back, giving her ground. "Well…I…"

"Go away Meyers," Brynn ordered, backing towards the front door and scooping her keys and purse off the table by the door. "Don't come near me again because next time, I swear to God I'm going to hurt you."

"Brynn," Meyers said, approaching her slowly. "Brynn think about what you're saying. We've been friends for -"

"That's all that we will ever be…Friends…but…" She shook her head and opened the door. "I don't think I even want to be that anymore. You don't trust me and I don't trust you. So, do us both a favor and don't come to me ever again."

Brynn turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. The gentle rain fell on her so she opened her wings a little and used them to cover her head. She saw Meyers' ride sitting in the driveway, unattended. She adjusted her grip on her keys and scratched a few decent lines across the side of his beautiful black car.

_Meyers…how could you…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Gorgeous is back," Caroline whispered, making Brynn look up in question. "Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome…look."

Brynn tore her eyes away from the food that was in front of her and looked towards the front door. Nuada was standing there, dressed in black pants and a blue archaic shirt. His sharp eyes were locked on her and Brynn frowned at him, turning her back on him once more.

"I'm on lunch break," Brynn muttered, idly picking up a French fry and biting off the end of it as she looked at Caroline. "You deal with him."

"Fine." Caroline fixed a bright smile on her face. "Good afternoon. May I help you, Mr. …?"

Nuada ignored her and took a seat next to Brynn, his eyes only focused on her. "You are upset." It was a statement, not a question.

Brynn shrugged and set her hand down, frowning at her food. "Maybe I am…"

"Did that human make you upset?" Nuada demanded, his eyes smoldering and his voice cold with a hint of concern on the edge.

The angel looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "If I say yes, I know you're probably going to kill him and if I say no, you won't believe me." She sighed. "I'm trapped with either answer."

"Perhaps."

Caroline bustled around the counter, refilling drinks and checking on patrons, but Brynn knew that she was probably listening in on their conversation. She threw down her fry and stood up abruptly.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked before turning on her heel and walking towards the doors without waiting for an answer.

Nuada was by her side the instant she stepped off the curb and onto the black top. Brynn walked away from the restaurant a good twenty yards behind the place before turning to face the dark prince. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and frowned at him.

"You can't kill Meyers," she told him bluntly.

"Can't I?" Nuada asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm sure you could kill him but I don't want you to kill him. No matter how much he pisses me off, I don't want him dead. So please, don't kill him…"

Nuada stared back at her, making no comment. Brynn sighed and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Thanks for the tea," she whispered, peering sheepishly into his eyes. "My mom, she seemed a lot better when I left her."

"That was the plan." Nuada stepped closer to her and smirked when she didn't pull away from him. "You were suffering while watching her suffer. But mark my words, I did not help her. I helped you, dark angel."

Brynn nodded and smiled a soft smile. "Thank you, Nuada. I really appreciate what you've done for…me."  
Brynn couldn't help wonder what he would do if she reached out and touched him. Her hand twitched as she fought to keep it in her pocket. All she could think about was touching him, trying to find a way to thank him for what he had done for her.

_Stop it. Touching people is odd and he'll more than likely rip my arm off…I can't touch him. _

Nuada raised a hand to her face, caressing is gently. Brynn was taken aback by the same gentleness he had given to her wings the night before.

"It is such a pity that part of you is tainted by human," Nuada commented, studying her face. "You do have a touch of beauty in you, though."

Brynn didn't know whether that comment was something to blush over or get mad at. She chose to remain silent, letting him do what he wanted.

"I see your father in you," Nuada continued, tilting her face up so he could better examine it. "He was a warrior…a lover, but still a warrior of the past."

"How do you know that?"

"All angels are warriors, but a few have lowered themselves to mating with humans…" Nuada told her quietly. "No offspring were conceived until you..."

Brynn frowned and turned her face away from him. "Whoever the angel was that got my mom pregnant with me, he left her nineteen years ago. He kept sleeping with her until she was four months pregnant with me…when he found out that I was a girl, he got mad and left. Mom hasn't seen him since. I never met him and if I did, I'd have a few choice questions for him."

Nuada smirked. "Perhaps I could help you locate this angel…your father."

Brynn shook her head, causing Nuada's smirk to vanish. "I don't know where to begin looking for him. We can't really expect to go up to heaven and find him. He's unreachable there. I'm going to have to cut off the search before we even begin the search."

"Don't you want to know what kind of angel you are?" Nuada inquired, circling her. "Don't you want to know what you will grow up to be? The powers that you will manifest? Don't you want to know about the Unseen Realm?"

Brynn nodded after a moment. "I do want to know these things, but I can always ask –"

"The humans?" Nuada s smirked coldly at her. "The humans know nothing or they would have told you about your origins when they first met you. They know nothing of the Unseen Realm."

"Abe does."

Cold fire smoldered in Nuada's eyes at the mention of the blue man. "Abraham does not know everything. He is a fool."

"You only fooled him once…and it was nearly the end of him, I'm guessing by that evil look in your eyes. But I bet you he wouldn't fall for it a second time. Abe learns from his mistakes… what few they may be."  
To that Nuada said nothing and Brynn really didn't expect him to. "Let me see your hand," was all he said.

Brynn hesitantly held her hand out to him. He gripped it in his ever strong grasp and Brynn winced as images flooded her brain, flashing before her eyes in rapid succession. His thoughts of proving his honesty and his cunning mingled with the scarred images of his last attempt to take control of the Golden Army, of what he had done to get to that point. Brynn felt her stomach clench and felt bile rise up in the back of her throat. She tried to pull her hand back, but Nuada's grip was too strong. The images kept coming…

"No more please!" she begged, twisting in his grip. "Please!"

Nuada ignored her pleas. His thoughts kept circling in her mind, flashing before her eyes, whispering in her ear. Brynn was starting to become more terrified of the man the longer she stayed connected with him. No, she wasn't terrified of him, she realized. She was terrified of what he had done. Of what he could still do.

"Please, let me go," she cried, putting her other hand on his chest which only strengthened the bond. "Please…"

Brynn's thoughts started crossing over to him. She didn't mean to open her thoughts, her memories of the past over to him, but it happened. Her memories of humanity's hate towards her, the kindness that followed. Memories of her mother's tales and the love she felt for her mother. Her pain, her sorrow, her happiness and triumph. It all crossed over to him, mixing with his thoughts as his gentle probing opened up her mind.

Brynn watched Nuada's eyes change. The cold fire was quenched, burned away by a warmer light. Sadness hung there in those amber orbs, understanding mixing with it. Brynn saw someone who understood her, what she had gone through. She saw a companion, someone she could spend forever with if he would simply give her the chance. He did not shrink away from these thoughts as they came into life in her mind. She could feel him puzzling over her thoughts and his new ones, but then he slowly loosened his grip on her hand.

Nuada pulled his hand away from hers and Brynn saw that it was trembling slightly. She lowered her hand to her side once more and waited for him to speak. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"I will help you find your father," Nuada said after a moment. "My dear little angel."

Brynn expected that to be the end of it, but he leaned into her and kissed her on the cheek. She touched her cheek as he walked away and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Aw…more affection from Nuada. A simple kiss will not be enough for long. That's right people, this story is going to become more action packed with some decent love scenes. You just have to wait for them to come. **

**Please review. I need your help to make this story better and that means I need some input. Thanks in advance. ~ Scarlet **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, I have received compliments and one critique since last updating. I'm going to apologize in advance if this story seems to be rushed, but that's how it's coming out in my head. My fingers try to keep up with my brain and we see where this brings us. For now, let's just have another update.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn walked out of the restaurant and frowned when she saw a dark haired woman leaning against her car. It'd been awhile since she'd last seen the woman; she'd gotten her hair cut. If Brynn was honest with herself she'd admit she had missed the pyro who loved Hellboy. From what she heard from Meyers, she was pregnant with twins, but she didn't look it just yet.

"Hey Brynn," the woman said, pushing herself away from the car. "Can I talk to you?"

"Even though I'd like to say no, I know I have no choice in the matter," Brynn muttered, crossing her arms. "What do you want Liz?"

"Well first off, I want to know why you knocked my boyfriend into a wall yesterday," Liz told her, crossing her arms as well. "So let's start there."

"Liz, your boy-toy demon was about to keep me from leaving the Bureau. I felt trapped. You know how it is…to feel trapped by those walls underground, don't you? It's suffocating."

"Okay, I get that, but they only want to protect you…"

"Protect me from what? Nuada?" Brynn laughed a soft laugh. "Nuada doesn't want to hurt me because I'm not one of you guys and I'm not exactly human either."

Liz shook her head. "The guys could explain this to you better…"

"I don't want to go back to the compound."

"Listen, I know you don't like it there, but you need to go there. I'll personally make sure you can leave whenever you want to."

Brynn took a step back, her wings rustling. "I don't want to go."

"You don't understand. Kendra wants to see you. She demanded to see you and has been since you left last night."

"If it's so urgent, why couldn't she come to me?"

"You know she doesn't like to come out in public. She's afraid people will point at her and make fun of her." Liz smiled a small smile. "She's not as thick skinned as HB when it comes to the publicity."

Brynn sighed and looked up at the sky, wondering what to do. She knew that if Kendra was asking for her, _demanding _that she be seen that it had to be important. But Brynn didn't want to go back to the Bureau where the ground seemed to swallow up her and everyone else, leaving her feel oppressed, trapped. She liked being out in the air, above ground where she could stretch her wings out and take off if she wanted to…if she ever conquered her fear of heights.

"She really wants to see you," Liz stated as if she read Brynn's mind. "I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't important, Brynn."  
Brynn sighed. "Fine. I'll go to the Bureau, but I am leaving if I get the slightest feeling of a trap being sprung. And no one is going to stop me. Understand?"

Liz nodded and opened the passenger side door of Brynn's car. "I understand."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn noticed a lot of stares as she walked away from the elevator with Liz. The employees were probably curious as to how Liz had managed to convince her to come back on her own accord. Brynn couldn't help but smirk when she saw the damage she had made Hellboy cause the night before.

_I bet they'll think twice about setting him on me again_, she thought. _Don't mess with an angel…especially when you don't know a thing about her._

"Hey Tweety Bird!" someone called and Brynn rolled her eyes. "I've got a bone to pick with you."

_Speak of the devil…_

"Not now Red," Liz said, glancing over her shoulder at him. "I've got to take her to Kendra."

"Good," Hellboy said, appearing behind them. "Maybe the oh-so-wise Oracle can help the bird figure out how to last five minutes in a fight against me."

"Was that a challenge HB?" Brynn asked, an eyebrow quirking up.

Hellboy looked at Liz. "Does she have a really small bird brain too?"

"Red…" Liz warned.

"Yes, it was a challenge Tweety." Hellboy poked Brynn with one of his rock fingers. "You can't beat me."

"I'm pretty sure I can beat you, Old Man," Brynn commented with a bit of ice in her tone as she glanced over at him. "Don't you know that the angels always defeat the demons?"

"Old Man? Now you've asked for it!" Hellboy pulled his hand back and made to punch her.

"Red!" Liz exclaimed as Brynn ducked around his arm.

"I've got this under control," Hellboy said, making to attack Brynn again. "Come here Tweety. I've got a present for you."

"You can keep it."Brynn opened her wings and beat them hard. The resulting force knocked Hellboy through two walls.

"Brynn!" Liz complained, the fire lighting up her eyes.

"He started it," Brynn pointed out before looking through the walls at Hellboy who looked stunned. "You okay HB?"

"I'm all right," Hellboy grunted.

"Better luck next time," Brynn said, walking on. "I've got to see Kendra now."

Brynn walked down a couple more halls until she came to a metal door. She knocked on it twice and the door opened.

Within the chamber sat a bed that resided in the middle of the room. Above that bed floated a woman with pale lavender skin and blonde hair that moved on its own accord, floating gently about her face. Her eyes were closed for now as she sat in the full lotus position, clad in a white flowing dress.

When Brynn stepped into the room, the woman's eyes opened to reveal glowing white orbs. A slow smile crossed her face and she lowered herself onto the bed, then threw her legs over the side of the bed.

"Brynn," she said, holding her arms open in welcome.

Brynn walked over to the Oracle and hugged her. She jumped when she was pinched by the woman. "Hey!"

The Oracle frowned at her and crossed her arms. "You haven't visited me in weeks! How could you let a job and Meyers keep you away from me?" One of her eyebrows quirked up. "How could you so easily replace the two of us with a Prince of the Unseen Realm?"

"I haven't replaced you," Brynn stated, rubbing her arm where the Oracle had pinched her. "Kendra, I'd never replace you."

"Oh yes, that comes later." Kendra tapped her chin and looked away. "A little later, I think. That sounds about right. Oh well, the fact still stands that you'll replace me for a little while. Look how fast you've replaced Meyers."

"Well, Meyers deserves it," Brynn mumbled, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Meyers wasn't there. "He tried to –"

"Trap you here, yes I know," Kendra said, waving a dismissive hand. "He likes to do that with people. You see this chain?" She pointed down at a glowing gold chain that was wrapped around her ankle. "This means I can never leave the protection of this room. No matter what I do. So yes, I do know what it feels like to be trapped. But mine is simply because I can't handle the world…I can't handle the changes or the looks people send my way…I might hurt them so I'm here, safely hidden away from the world without them being any wiser about it."

"You saved a lot of lives when the quakes happened," Brynn commented as Kendra made her way back over to her bed. "The public may not know what you did, but you know that you made a difference in a lot of peoples' lives."

"Yes." Kendra shook her head as she sat on the bed. "I did not bring you here to hear you compliment me on my gifts. I asked for you to come because I've seen your future by knowing your present and near past."

"What did you see?" Brynn asked.

"You will conceive a child in less than two weeks. Maybe even less than a week," Kendra said, her eyes glowing even brighter. "It all depends on the situation you put yourself in." She smiled slightly. "Don't think that you can avoid it either."

"Do you know who the father is?"

"Of course I do, but I'm not going to tell you who. Just know that it isn't Meyers, unless he gets you very drunk or forces himself on you, but that doesn't sound like our little _sweetheart_, now does it?"

"No." Brynn frowned and turned away from Kendra. "I'm not having Nuada's baby."

"I never said that Prince Nuada was the father and Lord knows that Nuada would kill me if he found out I was saying his name again in reference to a child…" She shook her head. "I honestly don't know what you see in him, but then again you're _soul mates_." She made a face. "Gag me with a spoon that is so cheesy."

"Wait! You know Nuada personally?"

"Correction, little angel. I knew him." Kendra held up a finger. "You see, I haven't had contact with that stubborn elf in over two hundred years. As far as I know, he's still hell-bent on ending the lives of all humans."

"That sounds about right."

Kendra sighed, running a hand through her ever moving hair. "You would think that after a failed attempt that cost him his life that he would see the futility of his ways, but tigers can't change their stripes, I suppose. I'm sure that if he spends time with you that he will learn to accept that humans, in their stupidity, are not as bad as he originally thought. Yes, I believe that that has already begun."

Brynn watched Kendra float once more above the bed. "Is that all, Kendra?"

"No…You should not seek your father. It will only lead to pain, loss, and destruction." Kendra looked straight ahead. "A shared heart will break after one half thaws…" She shook her head sadly, closing her eyes. "It's not too late to stop Nuada from searching for him."

"Finding my father is really that bad?"

"It's much worse and you know I've been on your side about finding your father for years, but this time…I have to put my foot down and say don't look for him. He'll warp and change you into something you don't want to be and then…well, the world goes into a period of darkness."

"Literal darkness?"

"Well, my vision ended once he warps you, so either something happened that changed it or it ended in complete darkness that consumed the world."

Brynn rubbed her neck nervously. "My dad doesn't sound like the holy angel that I was lead to believe that he was."

"Mothers in love tend to change the truth up to fit their fantasy, so yeah. Your father is a piece of work, but he was once a good guy. Now he's just…" She cut off suddenly and opened her eyes. "Oh dear…you have to go to the Troll Market. Maybe once you're there you can stop Nuada from finding your father, but you must go now. Like now."

"What?"

"Go now!" Kendra ordered sharply, glaring at her.

Brynn turned tail and ran out of the room. Liz looked surprised to see her running.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked, falling into stride next to Brynn.

"I need to get to the Troll Market now!" Brynn stated, opening her wings.

"I'll get the car," Liz said.

"There's no time!" Brynn told her, coming to a stop. "I've got to go now!"

Her pupils glowed with a blue light and her wings surrounded her. When she opened her wings again, she was standing outside of a rundown building. Brynn touched her forehead and felt a cold sweat run down her back.

"How did I do that?" she asked thin air. "And how the hell do I find the Troll Market?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: So the story is still moving at a fast pace. Unfortunately, Nuada did not make an appearance in this chapter, though he was mentioned a few times. Stayed tuned for the update in future days, but for now, please review. ~ Scarlet**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'd like to thank you all for reviewing me and normally, I'd be updating this story on Saturday, but that's when prom happens and I'll be super busy, so I decided to update it tonight. I hope you enjoy it, even if it seems rather rushed…**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn stood in front of the rundown building for a few minutes, just staring at it. She felt like somewhere in there was the way to get into the Troll Market, but she knew that if it was, it wouldn't be as easy to get into it as it seemed to be. She sighed and hugged herself.

"This is when I could use Krauss or Abe," Brynn muttered, looking around. "Damn it!"

"Oh, can I help you, young lady?" someone asked and Brynn glanced to her right to see a little old woman pushing a cart of cats, coming towards her. "You seem lost."

Brynn took a step back, seeing the old woman for what she really was. A troll. She glanced at the cats and realized what they must be. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, and Snacks. A shudder went down her spine and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

"Yes…I am lost," Brynn said, playing along, but also admitting the truth at the same time. "I…I need to get into the Troll Market, but I don't know how to get into it."

"Oh…a newcomer," the troll woman said, smiling sweetly. "Follow me, dear girl. I'll give you the way."

Brynn followed the old troll into the building. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of decay and other putrid smells, but continued into the building. The old woman pushed aside a metal wall and revealed an ancient looking door. Brynn stared at it in amazement before noticing that the troll woman was standing next to a complicated looking lock system.

"Now dear girl, pay attention so that next time you don't have to depend on little old me," the troll lady crooned, putting in the right combination. "I wouldn't want you to have to wait for someone to open the door for you. It's very dangerous around here."

"Yes. Yes, it is." Brynn watched as the door opened to reveal a world she had only heard about. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the woman said before walking off into the Troll Market.

Brynn stepped into the Market and started wandering around. She had never seen such strange creatures before. They were so like the creatures the professor had shown her in his books when she was a little girl, but even more strange. They were selling things she had never seen before and things that she didn't think they would have interest in selling. They were speaking mostly in a language that she didn't understand, but she caught hints of English mixed in the din. The longer she listened to it, the more confused she became.

But no one seemed to mind her wings. It was like she finally fit in the world, but this was not her world. She could not stay here for long because she had people counting on her back in the human world. This place would just have to wait.

_Nuada…where are you?_

She saw a strange looking creature that seemed to be holding a child. Upon closer examination, it wasn't a child but a growth that moved and looked like a baby. It stared back at her and smiled, waving at her to come over.

"You're very pretty," it said. "Are you lost?"

"Yes. I'm looking for Nuada…Prince Nuada," Brynn told the growth. "Do you know where I can find him?"  
The growth looked at her through dark eyes. "I saw him go towards the back shops. Better hurry or you'll miss him, your highness."

Brynn didn't question the growth. There was no time. She turned and forced her way through the crowd, heading for the back streets. She caught a glimpse of a pale man wandering the back streets with a strange creature on his arm and felt her heart swell.

"Nuada!" she called, elbowing her way with even more force.

She lost sight of him as she made her way up some stairs. With a panicked look she turned around to face the crowd and didn't see him.

_Turn around and continue this way…_

Brynn heard that voice again in her head and turned around. She ran past old fashioned shops that sold magic scrolls and trinkets and finally found Nuada at the end of the alley where the sky opened up. A strange creature sat on his arm, its silver wings glowing slightly. He whispered something to it and it took off.

"Nuada! No!" Brynn said, running over and into him. "No! Call it back!"

"Brynn, what is the matter?" Nuada demanded, steadying her. "What are you doing here?"

"I…Kendra…told me…to stop you," Brynn panted, pointing up at the sky where the thing was flying away. "That…needs to …come back…back down."

Nuada followed her finger in the direction of the strange creature. "It won't come back," he said. "Not until it brings back a message from your father as whether or not he will hold an audience with us."  
"Damn it!" Brynn cursed, spinning away from him. "I'm too late! Damn that troll woman for moving so slow!"

"What is the matter, my other half?"

"Everything now!" Brynn knocked aside the hand that would have reached out to touch her arm. "Don't touch me! I have to think…"  
She walked away from him and kicked a wall in passing. Then she started pacing and ignored the pain in her toe. Nuada simply watched her with a curious expression on his face.

"So, I came too late…" Brynn muttered to herself. "Maybe the message will get lost or the messenger will have a heart attack or…maybe it'll get eaten." She shook her head. "No, those things don't get eaten. Nygax don't get eaten for by anything except bipedal creatures and bigger Nygax…and I don't think I'll get lucky enough to have it get chased by another Nygax…" Her eyes lit up. "Maybe if I fly after it? No…I'm scared of heights."

Nuada walked in front of her, cutting her off. "Why do you want the message stopped? I thought you wanted to meet your father."

"I do…I mean, I did," Brynn mumbled, looking at him with hope that he'd understand. "I just…Kendra told me that it wouldn't be such a wise idea for me to have him summoned to Earth. He doesn't mean well for the human race."

"All the more reason for him to come."

Brynn's eyes narrowed. "After everything you saw through my eyes, you still haven't changed your mind in the slightest?"

"I've held onto my hate for over two thousand years," Nuada told her, his eyes now searching hers. "Do you think that a few thoughts shared by you are going to change me?"

"I had hoped..."  
"Then you hoped for a dream."

Brynn turned away from him and marched down the alley. He followed her. "Leave me alone, Prince Dark," she ordered, glaring over her shoulder at him. "And don't you darken my doorstep anymore. Understand?"

"I do not understand your sudden anger towards me," Nuada said calmly, putting a hand on her arm which she immediately pushed off.

"There's no point in explaining it to you, so I'm not even going to try."

Brynn turned and walked down the stairs, entering the crowd once more. This time, people seemed to notice her because some of them reached out and touched her wings. She wasn't bothered by this until a couple of the smaller creatures started pulling on her feathers. A silent gasp tore at her throat and she twisted away from the creatures, but there were more of them than she could get away from. They kept pulling on her wings, ripping feathers out with their greedy little fingers.

"Stop!" she cried, beating her wings but they were holding fast onto them. "Please stop!"

The little creatures chattered on in a language that she didn't understand. Brynn cried out and saw white lights pop in front of her eyes. The pain was growing too much for her to bear, but they continued to make it worse.

"Enough!" Nuada's voice boomed and one of the creatures fell to the ground dead by a spear point.

Brynn wrapped her wings around herself, seeing Nuada standing next to her, his weapon at the ready. The little creatures cowered before him, her feathers still clutched tightly in their fingers.

"My friends… look what you have done," Nuada instructed, glaring at them in turn. "You have made the last angel on this planet weep. You have caused her great pain and through our shared hearts, you have hurt your prince. Do you not feel her sorrow in your bones, deep within? Her beautiful wings are not to be plucked like a hen's, but revered. You have disgraced yourselves and your kind…and for that, death."

The creatures paled and tried to run away, but Nuada was much quicker. Brynn turned her face away, burying herself in her wings as tears ran down her face. All she wanted was to disappear, go to her mother and cry.

"Brynn," Nuada's voice said gently, his fingers grazing her supersensitive wings which sent a jolt of pain through her. "You must come with me to a healer…"

"I won't go with you," Brynn whispered, closing her eyes against her tears. "You told me that these were my people and look how they treated me. They pulled out my feathers! I haven't felt this kind of pain since…"

There was no point in saying it. He already knew what she meant through their bond. He knew everything about her and she knew almost everything about him. She hadn't felt this pain since her classmates beat her to ground and ripped out every single feather of her wings, leaving skeletal wings behind.

"Anyway, the healer can't make the feathers grow back…" she continued, raising a hand to touch her wings, but pulled it back before she could even graze a feather.

"A healer can take away the pain."

Brynn shifted one of her wings very carefully and saw that he was standing in front of her. She saw concern in his eyes, anger at what had happened moments before, and…was that fear she could see glinting within the fire of his eyes?

"Come with me, little angel," Nuada said, holding a hand out to her.

Brynn hesitantly reached for the hand and felt its warmth once it gently closed over hers. Nuada guided her through the crowds and back to the alley. Brynn felt someone touch her wing in passing and hurried closer to Nuada. A little smirk appeared on his face, but quickly fell once he felt her pain through the bond again.

"Perhaps you shouldn't touch me," Brynn murmured, lowering her eyes to the ground. "I don't want your sister to feel my pain through you."

"My sister will be fine," Nuada stated and he continued to hold her hand, pulling her into a store that she hadn't noticed before.

Brynn looked around the store as she was pulled through it. Strange smelling plants hung all over the place. They seemed to be growing on every surface except the floor. Brynn had never been one for herbal remedies, choosing to take a few Ibuprofen tablets instead to dull any pain and combat any fever. This time, she had a feeling that herbs would do the best to get rid of the electrifying pain that she was currently suffering from.

"Your Majesty," a strange looking creature said, approaching them. "What may I do for you today?"

"I need a potion that will cure pain," Nuada told the creature, pulling Brynn closer to him.

The creature looked at her in wonder. "For the angel?"

"Yes."

"I'll see what I can do, sire," the creature said, bowing and hurrying to the back of the store where vials of liquids stood.

Brynn leaned in close to Nuada and whispered, "I don't trust this guy."

"Terra has served my clan for centuries without treachery," Nuada stated quietly, glancing at her. "Do not fear her."

Brynn sighed and watched as Terra approached once more, holding a pale green vial. Terra bowed her head and held out the potion.

"It can take away the pain, but if she even has one drop of human blood in her, she will faint," Terra announced as Nuada took the vial away from her. "I catered to her angel blood, not to any human blood."

"This will do, my friend," Nuada said, passing the vial over to Brynn. "Do not fear little angel, I shall catch you." He glanced over at Terra once more. "Terra, do you have a potion that will grow back feathers?"

"For angels? No, sire I do not." Terra gestured at the vial in Brynn's hands. "That is the last potion I have that caters to angels. Since all the angels went back up to the sky or to Hell, I haven't had the need to brew any healing potions for angels." A soft smile appeared on Terra's face. "I thought I'd never have the honor of serving another angel again, sire."

"See to it that you serve her well," Nuada instructed before turning to Brynn once more. "Drink the potion. I shall be here when you come to."

Brynn pulled out the cork and tipped the mouth of the vial towards her lips. She gulped down the potion in two swallows, tasting something bitter and rusty. The world spun and then the floor started to rise up to meet her as the world went black.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Brynn certainly knows how to get in trouble, doesn't she? Well, that's how it turns out in my head. Also, if any of you are too young to handle the things I'm going to write in the next chapter, maybe you should skip parts of it…when I get it up on here. Until then, I leave you with this chapter and hope that you review! ~ Scarlet**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, I'm getting a lot of really interesting feedback and I want you guys to know that I'm going to start listening to you, but it's going to have to wait a few chapters before you see any real results because I don't feel like rewriting six chapters (the ones that are after this one), but trust me, things will get better. Right now, it's time for a scene that some of you may like and others will think is childlike in writing…You decide.**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn woke up what felt like minutes later, but it was much darker than she remembered. She pushed herself onto her elbows and looked around, blinking away the remaining sleep. All around her were familiar things, her things. Nuada had brought her home.

Flashes of what had happened to her came flooding back to her. She saw it both from her own view and from Nuada's and she had to admit that his was the worst way to see it happen. She could still feel his helplessness as he tried to fight his way through the crowd to get to her once he realized those things were hurting her.

"I guess he does care about me," Brynn murmured, running a hand through her hair as she sat up.

"Does the humanity in you really comprehend so little?" Nuada's voice floated in from the doorway.

Brynn looked over at him, seeing him lean against the door frame with his arms crossed and sighed. "No…it's just after so much time of hating everything remotely human, you haven't made the time to like someone. Even if the soul mate thing just happened, I think you've resented knowing that there was going to be someone out there who'd take time away from exacting death on humanity for years."

"Perhaps you should stay in your own head…"

"I'd like to but you've pretty much moved into my head," Brynn told him with a frown as she stretched her wings. They still kind of hurt and looked horrible with so many feathers removed, but she could already see the new growth of feathers coming in. "I've never met one like you before…"

"And you shall meet no other," Nuada stated, pushing him away from the door frame and closing it in one fluid motion. "I shall keep away men like me for they will not be as kind as I to you, especially if they are human."

"I don't think you can keep everyone away. I like to talk to a lot of people and meeting new people is always a fun experience."  
Nuada moved to stand in front of her and lifted a hand. Brynn stared up at him as he brushed back a strand of her dark hair. "People like me would not be the people you would want to meet, but perhaps you cannot understand that because you've been sheltered from the worst all your life. Your mother, the professor who you referred to as grandfather, everyone that you have met has sheltered you from people like me. People who would hurt you, beyond the simple plucking of your wings." His eyes smoldered as he looked at her. "People who would want you to die."

Brynn felt her heart flutter in her throat as his hand trailed from her hair down her jaw-line to her chin, tilting her face up slightly. "You want me dead?"

Nuada smirked at her. "Oh yes, I have witnessed you die many times in my mind. Never have you had a face, but it was you, the girl who would lay claim to my heart. In my exile and the hate that followed, I thought to kill what soul mate came my way so that I would not be deterred from my plan. For over two thousand years, there was no girl for me. Then three months ago, I returned to this forsaken world to find that my heart called for a girl, the same calling I had ignored for eighteen years before. The thoughts came back – death for the girl so that I may once again attempt to end the life of all humans – but once I found her, found _you, _the thoughts vanished…

"I do not know what has changed or when my heart has grown so soft…I simply know this: My heart calls for you so loudly that I can hear your name with each beat it makes. I can't sleep without dreaming of you. And – " He caressed her face once more, a soft light playing in his eyes. " – I find that I am very protective of you. I would lay down my life for you, Brynn McKae, last of Earth's angels, even if I do not understand why the gods chose to make you the other half of my heart."

Brynn stared at his lips for a moment, his naturally dark lips, before looking back into his eyes. "Maybe God wanted you to be loved...to feel love beyond the brotherly love you felt for your sister and beyond the feeling you had for just your people…" She saw the look that he sent her way. "Then again, I don't know anything…"

"No...That is not it," Nuada said, letting his fingers explore her face like he was memorizing every little feature. "Perhaps the gods decided it was time for me to abandon my hate, my contempt for humans by making you someone I both hate and cherish more than anything in the world."

Brynn felt color rise in her cheeks as he tipped her face back once more and started lowering his face towards hers. "Maybe…"

His lips touched hers softly, velvet over velvet, and Brynn couldn't stop herself from kissing him back. When he pulled away to let her breathe, Brynn's wings opened a little.

"I've only known you for three days," Brynn commented quietly, seeing something change in his eyes.

"Time means nothing to me," Nuada told her, his voice low. He smirked at her, tipping his head to the side. "Do you mean to tell me that you have not thought about giving into the urge that your body has called forth since your first encounter with me?"

Brynn stood up and tried walking past him, but he caught her around the waist with a firm arm. "No…I haven't thought about it."

One of Nuada's hands brushed over her bare shoulder and he leaned in so close that she could feel his warm breath on her neck. "You cannot lie to me, little angel."

Brynn hesitated before looking up at him slowly. Nuada captured her lips with his again and she fit herself against him, pressing her body tightly against his until she could feel his strong heartbeat against her skin. Nuada's hand trailed down her side, pulling her by the hip even closer to his warm body. She groaned against his lips when her cell phone suddenly went off.

"Damn it…" she cursed quietly, pulling her lips away from him while he looked rather irritated. She reached into her pocket and extracted her cell phone. "Meyers? What the hell do you want?"

"Whatever you're doing, don't do it," Meyers ordered sharply. "Kendra is having a field day right now and she won't stop saying 'stop her' and I'm assuming that 'her' is you. So whatever you're doing, stop it."

Brynn looked over at Nuada and saw that he was glaring at the phone with the intensity of Hellfire in his eyes. "I told you to never talk to me again, John," she said. "I ended our friendship this morning."

"Brynn –"

"DON'T SLEEP WITH ANYONE, BRYNN!" Kendra's voice exclaimed in the background. "DON'T LET ANYONE PUT ANYTHING REMOTELY COLUMN SHAPED IN YOU! IT'S BAD FOR YOU!"

"Brynn, don't sleep with Nuada," Meyers instructed.

"You can't tell me what to do anymore, John." Brynn glanced at Nuada with a slight smirk. "I'm not playing by your rules anymore."

"He's there with you right now, isn't he?"

"Goodbye John."

She hung up on him and threw her phone over in a corner of the room. Nuada held his hands out to her and Brynn took them carefully, feeling now familiar pathways open between the two of them. His touch scorched like slow fire through her veins and she found that she enjoyed this smoldering fire coursing through her.

Nuada pulled her closer to him once more and stared down at her. "What did that human want?"

"Kendra's going crazy because I'm apparently supposed to conceive a child in a couple of weeks…by some random guy."

Nuada's eyes narrowed and he fit his body closer to hers. "No one will touch you. You are mine as I am yours. I will kill anyone who dares to touch you as I intend to tonight."

Brynn felt the heat rise in her face as he captured her lips once more. His hands smoothed over the bare skin of her back, reaching for the bottom of her shirt which unsnapped with a gentle movement. Brynn's fingers traced over the dark prince's chest – which had been left bare – following the curves of his muscles until they reached the waistband of his pants, hooking themselves around the waistband and pulling her even closer to Nuada.

Nuada's lips trailed from her lips down the column of her neck to her shoulder. Brynn moaned softly as his lips moved over her skin. One of his hands snaked around her neck and undid the clasp that kept her shirt up. With one quick movement, Nuada freed her of the shirt, leaving her completely bare from the waist up.

Brynn felt Nuada pull away slightly and looked at him with half-closed eyes, feeling him cup her right breast in his hand. She could feel her heartbeat racing, sending fire through her veins as he looked at her as no man had ever looked at her before. Everything about him called to her and she wanted to be his right then and there.

Nuada seemed to read her thoughts because he pulled her to him once more, lifting her up so that her legs fit around his waist. He pressed her against the post of the bed and they shared the same gasp of air as the cold wood connected with Brynn's back hard.

He laid her on the bed and leaned over her, kissing her once more. The dark prince brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and smirked at her as he undid the clasp of her jeans with one hand. "I shall be gentle with you…for awhile…"  
Brynn shivered when he slid her jeans off which were quickly followed by her underwear. Suddenly he was over her again, straddling her body with his. She knew that in a matter of seconds, she would be his…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: And I'll leave it off there because I'm still not comfortable writing dirty scenes. But if you want to take up the challenge and write me a romantic one shot between these two, go for it. I'd practically adore you if you did.**

**Please keep the reviews coming and remember, I'm new at this Hellboy thing, so anything you can tell me about Silverlance and BethMora would be awesome! ~ Scarlet**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I didn't get many reviews for that last update, but I'm not troubled. I know you're still reading this because you made it this far – I can see the hits per chapter, you see. And I'm going to assume you're still interested. So here goes…**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn woke up to sun shining on her face. One of her wings twitched and the curtain slid into place with some gentle coaxing. She lay there in her bed, feeling sore but refreshed. Her dark prince was nowhere to be seen though, his side of the bed oddly vacant.

She slid herself out of bed and pulled on some random clothes – a pair of jean shorts and a blue top. Her cell phone was dark when she found it, but it quickly came to life in her hands. There were fifty-eight text messages, fifteen missed calls, and three voicemails. Brynn didn't feel like dealing with them, seeing as they came from Meyers, but the last few text messages were from Kendra.

**Brynn, please don't let him do what I think he wants to do…Damn, I'm too late. Well, don't let him do – damn it! **

**Brynn Leandra McKae! I'm warning you that one of the two people in your bed is going to end up with a broken heart if you let this continue any further!**

The final message from Kendra caused a chill to settle over Brynn as she stared at the three words on the screen.

**We're too late.**

_Too late? What does she mean too late?_ Brynn thought, deleting the messages. _Does she mean that my father already received the message? Did the Nygax already find him?_

Brynn's wings fluttered, moving restlessly. She glanced at them and saw that the new growth of feathers had come in. The damage of last night was gone, but the memories remained. It would be a long time before she'd find the courage to go into the Troll Market again, unarmed.

She turned and stuffed her phone in her pocket, proceeding to leave the room. She all but ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, pausing with a look of surprise on her face.

Nuada was sitting at the kitchen table with her mother. They were talking like they'd known each other for years and Nuada was even smiling a little.

"Good morning little angel," Nuada said, his eyes flitting in her direction, but the feeling his eyes left in their wake left her feeling exposed to him once more.

"Um…good morning?" Brynn said, feeling unsure about the situation.

Daria smiled at her daughter, looking healthier than Brynn had seen her in a long time. "I hope you don't mind that the two of us were talking, Brynn. I thought I could get acquainted with your prince lover since you didn't introduce me before you went to bed last night."

"Mom?" Brynn stepped further into the room. "What are you talking about?"

"It appears your mother heard us last night," Nuada stated with a smirk. "Apparently, it was not enough to wake the neighborhood, but perhaps we'll have to work on that."

Brynn felt a flush of heat rise in her face and she quickly looked away from her mother and _lover_. Daria laughed lightly and Brynn felt her face flush with more heat. A calmness settled over her shoulders as Nuada looked at her, but she could feel him probing her mind for the true source of her discomfort.

_We're too late…_

Nuada's eyes narrowed and Brynn made eye contact with him for a moment before walking over to the table and giving her mother a hug like the older woman requested.

"Gentle ladies, there is business that I must attend to away from here," Nuada said, rising from his seat. "It was an honor to meet the woman who birthed my other half, even if you are human. Little angel, come."

Brynn followed him out of the room to the front door. "He's already received the message," she whispered, even though her mother couldn't hear them.

"The return of the Nygax will prove that if it is true," Nuada stated, looking down at her. "I will return to you later with news, but do not come searching for me. The Troll Market is no place for an angel half-breed to wander without protection."

Brynn nodded. "I'm not going back there…"

Nuada reached a hand down into his shirt and pulled a necklace from about his neck. He passed it to Brynn and she looked down at it, running her fingers over the designs of the pennant.

"Forget-me-nots? And -" She traced another smaller budding flower. "- rosemary? If I recall the good teachings of the Professor, rosemary is for remembrance."

"Yes. This was given to me by my sister over two thousand years ago," Nuada said, watching her run her fingers over the design once more. "She believed that it would remind me of the love I had for my family and the love they had for me. Nuala, in her naivety, believed that I would return with good grace and an understanding for the human race."

Brynn held out the necklace. "You should keep it. It has sentimental value attached to it…"

"No." Nuada quickly slipped it around her throat, fixing the clasp. "It bears the mark of the royal family of the Unseen Kingdom. If you ever venture into the Troll Market, this necklace will save you the same pain you experienced last night." He stepped back and looked down at her. "I will leave you now. There is someone of a higher royal birth than I, who requires my attention."

Brynn blinked and he was gone. She sighed and headed back to the kitchen, her stomach rumbling for breakfast. Daria looked at her with a smile as she slipped some bread in the toaster.

"So you don't fall for the pretty faces quickly, right?" she teased and Brynn felt the color rise in her face once more. "It's been three nights since you met that boy and already you've been in bed with him."

"Mom…it just happened," Brynn said quietly, turning to look at her mother. "It wasn't planned, not by me anyway." Her brow furrowed. "And not by Nuada either. It was just a random act of love and a heat of the moment kind of thing."

Daria sighed dreamily, looking off into the distance. "I remember what that's like. Your father…Julius, he was a fiery lover…I never knew what to expect with him. One time he had me hanging from a chandelier and -"

"Mom!" Brynn stared at her with a mixture of shock and disgust. "I do not want to know about your kinky sex life with Julius."

"Well, I thought that since you've grown up into a real woman now that we could swap stories…Oh honey don't tell me you're embarrassed that I heard you. It's in our blood to be screamers. Who cares what the neighbors think? They don't know what good sex is if they don't scream their lovers' name to the world…" She smiled mischievously. "I certainly did when your father was around."

"And look where that got you," Brynn mumbled, gesturing at herself. "The circus wouldn't stop calling for years. _See the winged child from heaven soar to unreachable heights!_"

"Oh, Brynn! You know that I'd never sell you to the circus. Who would take care of me if I sent you to live with the lions, tigers, elephants, and strutting horses?" She looked down at her tea for a moment. "John called. I had to convince him not to come to the house. There's just something about Nuada that makes me think that Meyers would not appreciate him being in our home. Do you have any idea why that may be, Brynn?"

Brynn had never been able to lie to her mother and she wasn't about to start now. "Mom, Nuada wants – or wanted – to extinguish the human race months ago. He tried to raise the Golden Army to do it for him and he killed some people, but Hellboy stopped him. Nuada …_vanished_ and came back, looking for me because apparently we're soul mates."

"Soul mates?" Daria smiled slightly. "For two thousand years he's been searching for you and just nineteen years ago you appeared on this planet from me…What a trial it must have been to wait so long for your soul mate…" She lifted a hand. "What about Kendra? Why was she screaming when John called?"

Brynn sighed and sat down, setting her toast down in front of her. "Kendra saw something about my future. A really bad something that could mean the end of 'a shared heart'. I had no clue what she was talking about, but it doesn't sound good."

"A shared heart…" Daria's brow furrowed as she tapped her fingernails against the sides of her mug. "Well, Prince Nuada has a sister…a twin sister and in old legends, twin elves were connected through a bond. So that's one shared heart, but there is another." She frowned. "Soul mates share a heart as well and if Nuada really is the other half of your heart, you're sharing hearts."

Brynn nibbled on the corner of her toast. "I…I don't want him to die. I don't even know Nuala that well, but I don't want her to die." _Again. _"Mom, maybe Kendra's prophecies won't come true this time. She is an Oracle-in-training…right?"

"Kendra is an Oracle, Brynn," Daria stated. "She's been around for thousands of years. I think she knows what she's talking about by now…So, if she says something bad will happen, it's going to happen."

"Damn it." Brynn threw down her toast, no longer having the stomach for it. "I have to talk to her. Maybe her vision changed."

"Maybe…" Daria reached across the table and put a hand on top of Brynn's. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Brynn shook her head. "No Mom."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meyers looked relieved to see her as she walked off the elevator lift. Brynn was not in the slightest happy to see him though and walked right past him. He sighed and started following her.

"You didn't return any of my calls," Meyers commented.

"I was busy."

"You must have been because the other option is that you were ignoring me," Meyers said, looking at her. "And I know you wouldn't ignore your old pal like that."

"Oh really? Maybe that's because you're like a weed that comes back year after year," Brynn grumbled, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, why the hell would you call me when you know that I don't want to talk to you?"

"Because I'm your friend and I'm concerned about your safety. Brynn, Nuada is dangerous."

"So is Hellboy, but I don't see you trying to keep me away from him."

"Hellboy is the good guy, Brynn. We're all the good guys here, but Nuada isn't. He's the bad guy."

"I don't see what you see in him. I've looked past what he's done because he's changed."

"Changes can be temporary."

"Or they can be permanent."

Brynn stopped walking and glared at him, matching his argument as best as she could. She could feel curious eyes on her and Meyers, but she didn't shy from it.

"Brynn, Nuada couldn't have changed. Hating humans is so deeply ingrained in him that no one can help him change. Not in three days."

"Three days is long enough," Brynn argued, presenting her hand to him. "We bonded. My thoughts mix with his now. I dove deep into his mind last night, touching memories that he would never share with a stranger…I know him almost as well as I know you, if not better. He's changed Meyers. He was even talking with my mother this morning."

"What?"

"He was talking with my mother like she was a friend."

Meyers looked skeptical. "It was an act."  
"It was sincere." She glanced to her right and saw Kendra approaching. "Kendra, tell Meyers that Nuada was being sincere."

"He was being sincere," Kendra told Meyers with a sad smile. "That's what's so sad about it…"

"Kendra! What – how did you get out of your room?" Meyers demanded, looking surprised and a little terrified.

Kendra held up what remained of the gold chain that had been attached to her ankle. "Um…it kind of broke…My magic kind of went crazy for a moment…My bad." Her eyes turned to Brynn once more. "How are the wings?"

"They're fine."

"Hold on a minute. What happened to your wings?" Meyers inquired, looking between the two women.

"Little creatures pulled a good deal of her feathers out," Kendra announced calmly. "Brynn, you know you're too late now, don't you? Your father is already planning on coming down to Earth in…oh wait, Nuada will tell you when you're supposed to meet him. Then it will be _way _too late."

"Wait! Your father is coming down here?" Meyers looked even more bewildered. "Tell me that it isn't as bad as that sounds."

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds," Kendra promised with a small smile. "It's much worse. Either Brynn or Nuada could die. Oops! I said too much. Forget I said that."

"If Nuada dies, Nuala dies again…We can't let that happen again," Meyers said before looking at Brynn. "And you could die…I won't let that happen."

"What are you going to do?" Brynn questioned, crossing her arms.

"He's going to attempt to lock you in a room that you'll never escape on your own and then Nuada will come charging in, kill a bunch of people and he'll release you." Kendra sighed. "Of course, I know that John is such a good boy that he wouldn't want to be the cause of the deaths of so many people. I think he'll let you go now."

"Brynn, you can't go back to Nuada," Meyers said, looking into her eyes with a pleading light in them. "Your life is in danger…it's been that way since he walked into your life. You've got to stop seeing him and let us protect you."

Brynn shook her head and took a step back. "I can handle this…"

"Badly," Kendra commented. "Sorry Brynn, but you're only going to make the matter worse, instead of better for once. The best solution is to go to the Troll Market again and send out your own Nygax with a message that…" Her eyes grew unfocused, glowing with more intensity. "Damn! You'll still be too late." She shook her head, her moving tendrils of hair shifting with her. "I think I prefer the other way that it happens…You've got to leave now. Hellboy's looking for a rematch and Nuala's looking to talk."

Meyers opened his mouth to say something, but Brynn opened her wings threateningly. He closed it quickly and she smiled grimly at him.

"Good luck," Kendra said as Brynn retreated down the hallway. "You're going to need it…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Things are going rather crazily in my head at the moment. I have too many story ideas zipping in there, so you'll have to excuse me if something seems off. **

**As always, I look forward to your reviews and hope you'll stick around for another chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Brynn sat on a park bench, watching little children play on the playground. People hardly looked at her, but she could feel their contempt for her. They didn't understand why she was there, watching their children play, but they weren't going to say anything. She knew they wouldn't say anything as long as she didn't touch them.

"Why do you watch the children?" someone asked and Brynn glanced up to see Nuala standing there. "In my brother's shared memories with you, I see that you watch the children quite often. Why?"

Brynn shrugged and looked back at the children. "Maybe it's because I wish I was like them again…so full of hope and wonder." She frowned. "Life seemed so much better as a child – aside from the cruelty about my wings. The younger the children, the more tolerant they are of differences…unlike their adult counterparts."

Nuala smoothed her skirt as she sat down next to Brynn. "Children are the future of all races…" She looked at Brynn once more. "One day, people will understand you. They will understand all of us."

Brynn glanced at her. "Why are you so nice and positive all the time?"

"That's not the question you want to ask," Nuala commented with a soft smile. "You wish to know why I am not like my brother…" She sighed and looked at the children playing. "My brother has always hated the humans, thinking them greedy, hollow hearted beings. I was raised to think humans were simply another growing being, learning from their mistakes over time. I am faint around blood, so I never ventured into the battlefield and I still cannot stand the sight of death. Death to humans, all humans, is not something I wish to see. I cherish all life, not just the lives of my people. My brother does not."

"He helped my mother…"

Nuala smiled that charming smile of hers. "He did…Brynn McKae, last daughter of the angels of Earth; you have begun to thaw my brother's cold heart. His heart beats strongly with a love that he does not understand. Perhaps in time, my brother will learn to let his cold mask he wears fall around you, so that you may see the love that he feels for you."

Brynn shook her head and crossed her arms, her wings rustling lightly in the breeze. "Nuada says he hates me, but loves me at the same time. It doesn't make sense. One day, I may wake up and find him standing over me with his spear pointed at my throat because he finally realized he doesn't need me…"

"You are wrong, little angel," Nuala said, placing a hand on Brynn's knee. "The changes you have made to my brother may seem small to some, but to him they are drastic changes. In three days, my brother has learned what it means to have something that he cherishes beyond life despite its attachment to humans and he has grown protective of it, of you. He can no longer breathe, fight, or speak without you. To him, there is nothing more important in this world than being with you, serving you, loving you." Her eyes searched Brynn's. "Do you understand?"

Brynn nodded and the two lapsed into silence. The children laughed and called to each other. A child accidentally kicked a ball too hard and it rolled to a stop near Brynn's feet. The child ran over and stared at her as she plucked it off the ground.

"Here you go," she said, holding the ball out to him. "You do not have to be afraid."

The child smiled and took the ball from her. "Are you an angel?" she asked.

"Yes," Brynn told her quietly. "Yes, I am."

"Do you fly?"

"Not very often." Brynn leaned towards them conspiringly. "I am afraid of heights."

"Oh."

"You better run along now. Your friends are waiting for you."

The little girl turned and saw that her friends were indeed waiting for her to kick the ball back. "Bye angel," she cooed before running away with the ball clutched in her hands like a football player.

"Kendra told me that you were to conceive a child," Nuala said, watching Brynn settle back in her seat.

"She did? Well, I suppose that it may be true," Brynn mumbled, glancing at the princess. "I lost my virginity to your brother last night and if he doesn't get killed, I hope that he'll be the only person I have any kind of sex with…But Kendra never said who the father would be, so I could always lose Nuada or get raped by some great evil…it just depends on the situation I put myself in."

"My brother would never let himself get killed again. Not when he has someone like you to love and still loves me…And he will never let a great evil claim you. You are marked as his now."

Brynn sent her a puzzled look. "Marked as his? How?" She touched her neck. "Did he give me a hickey or brand me or something?"

Nuala shook her head and slowly reached her hand out so that Brynn wouldn't be spooked. She lifted the pennant of the necklace that Nuada had given her that morning. "All of the Unseen Realm knows that my brother has worn this necklace for over two thousand of your years. It bears the mark of the royal family, my family. Now that you wear the necklace, every creature will know that you are his lover, his heart. They will not touch you."  
Brynn looked down at the pennant. "He's that possessive?"

"My brother is in love," Nuala corrected, returning her hand to her lap. "Now he may learn the happiness that comes with the purest emotion…"

Brynn's eyes lifted to Nuala and then saw past her. Abe was standing in the parking lot of the park with one of the other employees of the Bureau. His eyes were on the two of them and Brynn saw that he had a hand up, palm side presented towards them.

"Do you really love Abe?" Brynn asked, looking once more at Nuala.

Nuala smiled, her amber eyes shining softly. "Perhaps."  
Brynn couldn't help but smile too. "My favorite memory of Abe is when he was teaching me how to swim. I was five and I scared him right away by jumping into the deep end and sank to the bottom of the pool for a full two minutes before he jumped in after me...He pulled me to the surface and set me on the side of the pool, chiding me gently for scaring him like that. I apologized and gave him a hug around his neck." She laughed at the memory as it came back full force. "It was like he had never been hugged before because he just floated there with a stunned expression on his face. He didn't hug me back at all…"

"He had never been hugged before," Nuala explained with a small smile. "You were the first to ever show affection towards him, the first person and the first child."

Brynn tilted her head to the side and looked thoughtfully into space. "I figured as much. No one knew of his existence and they were only beginning to become aware of mine…Anyway, he taught me to swim like he did that day and I promised him that I would never scare him again."

"You cannot keep that promise. Already Abraham fears for your safety. An angel is a powerful being that seeks to do good for the people of this world, but there are a few that seek the end of humans. Abraham fears that your father may be one of these angels and that my brother will use him to change your mind about humans as well."

"Nuada is not like that!" Brynn exclaimed.

"Many do not believe so," Nuala commented sadly.

"Abe!" Brynn stared at him as he approached. "Nuada's changed. You don't have to worry about him…"

"I will always worry about him," Abe told her quietly. "I will not be fooled by his act again, by his lies. Brynn, I'm happy that you found someone to love, but I'm disappointed that it had to be him."

"Who gave you the right to be disappointed in me?" Brynn demanded, climbing to her feet so she could look him in the eye. (Well not quite, she's not as tall as Abe.)

"Well, I…" Abe trailed off, not used to this tone from Brynn.

"Abraham has always viewed you as a daughter of sorts," Nuala declared, rising to her feet as well. "He was there for you when you were growing up…and he found love for you as a father would find for his child."

Brynn glanced at Nuala before looking back at Abe. He'd always been there for her. He'd call her 'pet' sometimes as a way to show his affection for her. 'Brynn, pet' he used to say. He sheltered her from the horrors the Bureau always encountered, teaching her the names of demons and mythical creatures from books from beyond even his time. Abe had counseled her for years whenever she was faced with a problem that her mother didn't understand, problems that no human could understand. He had showed her love so many times and she had grown up thinking of him as her best friend, her confidante. They were even closer than her and Meyers…

"Blue boy?" she asked, using one of her pet names for him. "Do you really feel that way?"

"Yes," Abe said, nodding his head.

Brynn felt tears come to her eyes, but she held them back. The sky wasn't so kind, quickly blotting out the sun with gray clouds. Nuala looked up at the sky as the rain started gently falling. Abe reached out and enveloped Brynn in his arms.

"Why are you so sad Brynn, pet?" Abe asked.

"I thought I lost my father nineteen years ago," Brynn whispered, closing her eyes as she opened her wings, using them as a barrier over their heads with which she sheltered them from the rain. "Blue boy…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn walked into her room a few hours later and looked out her window. The gentle rain was still falling, but she was no longer crying. She lifted her eyes to gaze at the sky, looking at the light gray clouds moving so slowly in the vast ocean of pale blue. Once upon a time, she used to pretend she could see heaven in the skies, see the angels playing and lounging about in the clouds. Once, she thought she had saw one looking straight down at her, but it turned out it was just a bird that had been hovering so high in the sky.

_Those were just childish dreams of finding the father that I never got the chance to meet_, Brynn thought, scanning the clouds. _Now that I have the chance to finally meet him, everyone is telling me that it's a bad idea…Kendra, she's rarely wrong about something like this and if she says that something bad is going to happen to me, Nuada, and Nuala…then something bad is going to happen…_

_But I'm not going to let something bad happen to Nuada or Nuala…I'd rather not have to fight, but if I can just talk to him for a moment and then ask him to return to the skies…maybe the crisis will be averted...Please God, be on our side once more…_

Brynn heard something move outside of her window and looked down. Nuada was standing in the yard, his eyes focused on her. Rain had plastered his hair against his skull, but he gave it little attention. All of his attention was on her.

"_Come…"_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: I should be able to upload the next chapter in a week or so. I appreciate your patience as I work out the kinks in this story. Please read and review. Thanks! ~ Scarlet**


	10. Chapter 10

Brynn walked beside Nuada, her hand resting on his forearm. Her eyes were focused on the heavens, looking for any sign of her father. Dread was welling up in the pit of her stomach, mixing with the fear for her soul mate. She kept herself close to him not only for comfort and strength, but to protect him.

"Do not fear, little angel," Nuada said gently, his eyes turning to her for a moment as he led her through the park. "Your father will not wish to hurt you. You are of his blood and that of his mate."

Still, Brynn moved a little closer to him. "But what about you? What if he hurts you?"

"I am not concerned," Nuada told her. "I trained with a seraph many centuries ago, before the humans poisoned the world. I do believe that I can handle him if there is a cause to."  
Brynn didn't find any comfort in his words. Her thoughts raced with Kendra's warnings and the words 'too late' kept echoing in her mind. Were they really too late to stop something horrible from happening? Was Brynn too late to keep Nuada and Nuala alive? A second chance extinguished…

Nuada came to a stop in the middle of a field, his eyes turning to the sky for a moment. Brynn followed his gaze, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Her dread was starting to make her feel sick and she could feel the bile rising up in the back of her throat, burning it.

"Little angel, there is something I must ask of you," Nuada said, turning towards her.

"Yes?"

"I must ask you to shed more of your tears tonight."  
Brynn blinked as rain fell on her face. "You want me to cry?"  
"Yes, though it pains me to see you with tears falling in rivers down your beautiful face…It is necessary -"

He cut off abruptly as the sound of running feet could be heard. Brynn turned around and saw that about twenty of the Bureau employees were running towards them, guns raised and aimed at Nuada, aimed at her. Brynn stepped back in fear while Nuada moved in front of her, pulling out his spear.

"Meyers!" she cried out, seeing him make his way to the front of the crowd. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry Brynn," Meyers said, his gun pointed at Nuada's chest. "We can't let you call Julius to this world. It's too dangerous."

"Pathetic human, do you think you can stop an angel with that worthless weapon in your hand?" Nuada demanded before his eyes narrowed. "You are the human that would have my other half as your own…"

Meyers didn't say a word, but adjusted his hold on his gun.

"How could you expect her to love you when you have hurt her too many times?" Nuada questioned harshly. "I should kill you where you stand for making an angel weep."

Meyers looked from Nuada to Brynn and back again. "I was only trying to protect her. All I ever wanted was to protect her."

"You failed," Nuada said, his weapon lashing out.

Brynn screamed as the sound of bullets rang out and closed her wings around herself and appeared in front of Nuada. Time seemed to stand still as she watched a bullet embed itself in his arm, but she opened her wings once more and beat them once. Some bullets from other guns fell to the ground in a clatter of metal on wet grass. All was silent for a moment, save the drops of rain falling to Earth.

Brynn looked at Nuada and saw the blood leaking from his shoulder. She could smell the rust of it. Taste the metallic scent in the air. His eyes were wide as he looked from his wound to the weapon clutched in his hand. Brynn felt pain in her chest, felt it grow warm and wet at the same time. Suddenly it was hard to breathe.

"Brynn…" Meyers whispered as if afraid to raise his voice.

"Little angel…what have you done?" Nuada asked, just as quietly as Meyers had.

Brynn was afraid to look down, but she knew she had to. Everyone's gaze seemed to be focused on her anyway, to that one point. Nuada shook his head slowly as if to warn her to not look down, but she'd never been good at following orders. Her gaze descended slowly to see what everyone seemed to be looking at.

Nuada's spear was embedded in her chest. Brynn could feel it poking her back from the inside and wondered if it had poked through the skin. She wondered if her wings now had blood on them, but was afraid to see if the pure white feathers were stained crimson.

"Why?" Nuada demanded once her eyes lifted to his once more. "Why did you stop me, little angel?"

Brynn smiled a weak smile, but could feel tears stinging her eyes. "Because I don't want you to die…not for me…"

The pain was growing too much for her. She could see a black ring appearing around the scene presented to her. She grasped the rod of the spear with both hands and made to force it out of her, but Nuada shook his head, stopping her.

"Don't," he whispered. "If the head separates from the rod, the head will travel towards your heart…I won't let that happen, Brynn."

Brynn lifted a hand and touched her cheek where crystal tears were sliding. She captured one tear on the tip of her finger and lifted it to where Meyers and Nuada could see it. The tear glistened with a red light on her fingertip, mixed with the blood on her hand.

"This…this is what we need then," Brynn breathed, noticing how unattractive her voice sounded with so much pain in it.

Brynn flicked the bloodied tear past Nuada's shoulder before sinking to her knees. Everything hurt. Meyers lurched forward to help her, but Nuada hissed at him, drawing Brynn closer to himself.

"What, did I miss the party?" Hellboy said, though his voice sounded funny to Brynn's ears. "Tweety Bird? Hey! What happened to you?" His eyes lifted to Nuada's face when he saw that Nuada was holding her. "You! A simple 'it's not you, it's me' could have broken you up a lot easier. You didn't have to kill her."

"Quiet demon," Nuada ordered before turning his eyes to the scene behind him. "She has not passed yet…"

A hole in the gray clouds appeared over the field. Brynn looked up and saw what she thought was a large bird descending from the heavens. She blinked and saw that it was a man with enormous wings heading straight for them.

"Nuada, run…" she breathed, closing her eyes as the world went black.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_Abe! Abe!" Brynn called, running through into the library. "Blue boy! I need to talk to you! Please!"_

_Abraham Sapien looked up from the book in his hand, his large blue eyes lifting from the old pages to look at Brynn. Brynn swore he was smiling at the sight of her, even though she knew he couldn't form a smile on his face. As far as she knew, she was the only person capable of bringing a 'smile' to Abe's face._

"_Brynn, pet," Abraham said, closing the book. "You sound distressed..." He lifted a hand, the palm facing her as she drew her cloak tightly around herself. "You are in pain…What is the matter, pet? What happened?"_

_Brynn's chin quivered as she fought to keep her tears back. Abraham noticed a trail of blood behind her and the scratches on her arms and face. She was covered in dirt and there were leaves in her disheveled hair._

"_Brynn, what happened?" Abe asked, dropping the book as he crouched down in front of her. _

_Brynn let go of the cloak, letting it fall open and then undid the knot so that if fell in a pool around her feet. She winced as she moved her wings so that he could see the skeleton of what her wings should have been. Blood was dripping from the skeleton of her wings, red tinged with gold. Abe's already wide eyes widened even more and his mouth dropped open. Brynn hugged herself and let the tears fall._

"_Brynn…your wings," Abe whispered, crouching down in front of her. "Tell me what happened. Who did this to you?"_

_The little angel shook her head and looked away from him, unable to look him in the eye. Abe put a hand on her shoulder and jerked back slightly when he saw the memories of the little girl standing in front of him. _

_The cruelty of children slightly older than this six year old girl astonished and outraged him. They had cornered her and beat her down. Brynn still did not know what powers she held and could not fight back much, not with so many bullies around her. The bullies had pushed her to the ground and started ripping out handfuls of her feathers, not caring about the girl's agony. They left her bleeding on the ground and she had picked up her cloak and came running to find him, her source of protection and comfort._

"_Brynn…" Abe said, gently pulling her close to him and lifting her off the ground. "I'll take care of you, pet. I'll take care of you."_

_Brynn had blacked out for a few minutes after that, but when she came to she was lying on her stomach while Abe tended to her wings and the Professor was standing near her head._

"_Blue boy," she whispered, lifting her head._

"_It's all right, pet," Abe said quietly. "You just need to stay still for a few more minutes."_

_Brynn didn't have the strength to move anymore anyway. She laid her cheek down against the leather examination table and looked up at the Professor. He didn't smile at her like he usually did and she knew that any candy he could offer her would not taste sweet to her at the moment._

"_What has the world become when even children beat down an angel?" the Professor whispered, speaking to himself more than he spoke to Abe or Brynn. "Intolerance at such a young age…"_

"_We shouldn't have let her go to school with normal people," Abe said quietly, his cool hands applying a remedy to Brynn's wounds. "Something like this wouldn't have happened if we had schooled her here."_

"_Her mother wishes to let her daughter grow as a normal child, free from the walls below ground." The Professor sighed. "We cannot go against her wishes since Brynn's birth was already made open to the public. Nothing we can do will erase her existence from the public's knowledge…we must let her live as a normal child."  
"But she's not normal," Abe protested. "She is a very special angel. She's the last angel on Earth; sired by an angel, beget by a human. She should be treated -"_

"_We cannot put an angel in a cage Abraham. I have consulted Kendra and she believes this is the last time that any bully will express violence towards Brynn. She will recover quickly, as she always does, and she will come out of this stronger than before." He looked down in Brynn's eyes. "Won't you, my dear?"_

_Brynn nodded stiffly, wincing as Abe touched a particularly painful exposed nerve. She heard heavy boots walk into the room and smelled cigar smoke. She knew Hellboy had just entered the room._

"_Whose ass am I kicking, Tweety Bird?" he asked, appearing in her line of sight. _

"_Everyone," Brynn whispered, her eyes narrowing as a crimson tear fell from her eyes. "I hate them all…"_

"_Brynn…" the Professor sighed._

_Brynn closed her eyes and wished that the pain would just go away…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn opened her eyes and gasped as she sat up, sucking in air as if she had just resurfaced from the deepest ocean. Her dark hair clung to her damp face and her chest hurt, but she was alive. She blindly reached down and found that there was no longer a spear sticking out of her chest.

There was no warm, wet blood flowing from her wound. There wasn't even a wound anymore. And as that fact sank in, she felt her pain subside and then vanish.

The angel looked down at her chest in disbelief, but the spear was gone. She was clad in a pure white dress and her shoes were gone, leaving her feet bare. Brynn puzzled over the clothes for a moment longer before looking around her.

She didn't recognize her surroundings, but she guessed from the stained glass windows depicting random saints and Jesus, that she was in a church. One fact she noticed with a sad heart was that Nuada wasn't there. She could feel the distance between them and the sorrow he felt for wounding her, but she also knew he was looking for her.

With a soft rustling of her wings, she sat up fully on the altar, wondering how she had gotten to this place. Had she teleported again? No, she didn't think she had had the energy to do that with a spear in her chest.

"You must have a thousand questions," a strange voice said from the shadows of the darkened sanctuary.

Brynn stared into the darkness, her eyes scanning for the shape of another person. "Who's there?" she demanded.

"Don't tell me you don't recognize your own father," a man said, walking out of the shadows so that she could see him and his wings. "I am Julius."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Yay! Julius has made it into the picture, but does this bode well for our star couple and Hellboy? Review me and the next update might come up sooner than you think. **

**I'd also like to note that yes, Brynn is going to through a lot of deadly situations and I'm not about to stop putting her in them. I have a thing about character suicide/murder and am a glutton for putting my characters through horrible situations. This is not an attempt to make her a Mary Sue, but a fact of life that I have issues. So please don't snap at me just because she goes through so many life altering, painful events in this story. I'm not about to change to suit just one person's view of my story.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you review and stick around for the next few chapters. Nuada will make his appearance soon enough. So yay there! Until we meet again, Scarlet. **


	11. Chapter 11

"I am Julius," the strange man said with a small smile on his face at Brynn's bewildered expression.

"Julius?" Brynn breathed in disbelief.

She hadn't expected her father to be so tall. His face resembled that of a Greek statue with chiseled cheeks and large, ice blue eyes. His torso was left bare while his lower half was clad in a pair of loose pants that were the brightest white she had ever seen. And his wings surprised her. They were enormous, nearly two times as long as he was tall and they were steel gray. Even in the darkness she could see the stain of blood on his wings.

"Yes. I am your father, you are my daughter," Julius stated, approaching her.

Brynn scooted backwards off the altar, catching herself before she fell. "Please, don't come any closer," she said, holding her hand up like she was warding off some great evil.

Julius paused and his smile turned into a smirk. "You do not have to be afraid of me. I am not here to hurt you…I was told you have many questions for me by the one who sent a message to me."

Brynn nodded and lowered her hand, certain that he wouldn't come any closer. "What kind of angel are you?"

"An angel of death...I'm one rank from being an arch angel." His eyes glinted like ice on a sunny day. "I'll become one soon though. Then my ascension into being a seraph will quickly follow.

_Cocky much? _Brynn thought, trying to sort through her questions for the real important ones. "Why did you choose my mother?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "And then leave her once you impregnated her?"

"Why did I choose Daria?" He laughed. "Daria was one of the few that still believed in the old ways and the oldest beings in the world. It helped that she was a beautiful, young woman and stronger than most. I fell in love with her and we created life." His face turned serious. "As most angels do, I wanted a son to come from my relationship with your mother. But no angel had successfully impregnated a human female before. I was the first angel father. But Daria did not conceive a son. She conceived a daughter, she conceived you."

Brynn frowned. "Sorry I'm such a disappointment, but you didn't have to leave her just because of me. You could have stayed, let her have me, and try again a few months later."

"I do not highly believe in second chances."

"But don't you miss her?"

"I do, but I always see her in her dreams." His face turned even grimmer. "I know she was sick for over two years and that you were taking care of her, even if she never showed me your face. I could not find your thoughts, search through your dreams for you…You were simply invisible to me from Heaven and I was not going to come back down to simply search for something that had caused me much disappointment in the past."

"If you feel so disappointed in me, why did you agree to meet me?" Brynn felt a flash of white hot anger course through her veins. "You could have gone on with your life and left me out of it."

"I was curious…My only child was calling for me, for a reason I did not know. What I found struck my curiosity even more. My child was between a legion of humans and the prince of the old ones." His smirk returned. "With a spear in her chest."  
Unconsciously Brynn touched a hand to her chest, feeling the echo of pain. She didn't know how she had been saved; Nuada's weapon should have killed her. His aim had been true and she could still taste the blood in her mouth. She should have been dead, but she was alive.

"You're probably wondering how you managed to live and return from the scene without a mark," Julius guessed, folding his arms over his chest. "I broke the prince's spearhead from its shaft and collected you in my arms. Only an angel could have saved you from such a dangerous weapon, my child."

Brynn dropped her hand to her side once more. "What happened to the others?"

"The humans are dead," Julius told her bluntly with a look of satisfaction on his face. "They thought they could shoot me with their tiny weapons…The demon and your prince managed to survive, but I will find them and destroy them for attacking me when they saw that I was taking you away from them…"

_Meyers is dead? _Brynn shook her head, the color in her face draining. "No…you…you killed them…in cold blood! How could you?"

"Easily. Humans annoy me with their greed and their constant need to be the center of attention. This war against the humans must commence and soon, but I do not believe your elf lover is the right person to command the army." He laughed coldly. "He'll be dead anyway so it will not matter…"

Brynn took a step back, then another. "No! You can't kill him! You can't kill the humans!"

"I told you that I am an angel of death. Killing humans is my job." He scowled at her. "As for the elf prince, it will simply be payback."  
"You belong in Hell!" Brynn snapped, opening her wings threateningly as he approached her. "Angels are supposed to be good and pure. You're nothing like that." Her eyes glowed with a blue light.

"Oh that wounds me. You wouldn't believe how many demons have told me to go to Hell, but hearing it from my own daughter? I can't let that go unpunished."

Brynn leaped out of the way as he flew at her. She beat her wings once and sent him careening into a wall. A shriek tore at her throat as he beat his wings hard and sent her flying through a wall into the night.

It took her a moment to climb to her feet, the pain she felt echoed from Nuada hurting her as badly as the real pain she was in.

"Brynn…" Julius called, walking lightly out of the church.

_Got to do that teleporting thing again_, Brynn thought, focusing on the image of a place where she'd be safe. _Please God…let this work one more time._

"You will be disciplined," Julius said, approaching her again as she drew her wings in around her. "If you could not be a warrior son, you will be a warrior daughter of the sky."

Brynn closed her eyes, focusing on the place she felt safest. The feeling of the cold grass on her feet changed into cold tile. She no longer felt the breeze, instead heard the hum of an air conditioning system. Brynn didn't want to open her eyes to see where she was because she was afraid that it was all just a trick of the mind.

"Brynn pet, how did you get here?" Abe's voice asked from somewhere ahead of her. "And why are you dressed like that?"

Brynn opened her eyes and saw the blue fish-man standing there with concern in his large blue eyes. Tears came to her eyes and she jumped into his arms, burying her face against his chest.

"Abe! Something terrible has happened!" she exclaimed against his chest. "My father -"

"Is an evil angel of death," Abe cut across her. When she pulled back to look at him, he cocked his head to the side. "Kendra revealed some more of the story when Hellboy came back and he told us that Julius had kidnapped you…" He blinked. "I was worried about you."

"I'm putting you in danger being here then," Brynn whispered, backing away from him. "Just like I put Nuala in danger earlier."

"If you're talking about the gunshot wound to her shoulder, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Her wound healed." He took a step towards her, but she backed away from him again. "Brynn pet, why are you acting this way?"

"I'm the reason all those men died…All of the good guys are dead because of me, all their blood is on my hands because I wanted to meet my father! More are going to die and…" She shook her head and punched the wall beside her. "God! Why didn't I listen to Meyers while he was alive? Why didn't I stay in the protection of the Bureau complex like he told me to?"

"Brynn…"

"If I had listened to him, Nuada wouldn't have summoned my father to this world and I wouldn't have put so many people's lives in danger. No one would have had to die for me." Tears fell from her eyes in raging rivers as she hit her fist weakly against the wall. "I wouldn't have put the world in jeopardy or started a renewed war with the humans…Meyers…Meyers wouldn't be dead…"

Abe hesitated, unsure whether or not to touch her. "Brynn…"

"I never apologized to him…I never told him what I really thought about him! I told him that I hated him and that I never wanted to see him again…I shouldn't have said those things…He – he helped me get my job at the diner and he always tipped me the best…He was my best friend for these past few years and I…I treated him like shit in the end. Now I'll never get the chance to tell him that I…"

"That you what?" someone asked and Brynn felt a surge of joy and anger course through her veins.

"You…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: I have no clue why I didn't include Nuada in this chapter, but I think the next chapter will explain where he was and why. And just a head's up, there is only going to be 20 chapters to this story. Why the rush? I just can't keep a story line going for much longer without making the story something dumb or Mary-Sue-like. Sorry. I hope you stick around for the rest of the story, next update will be soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

Brynn sat awkwardly on a chair in the library, letting Abe tend to her minor wounds. Her eyes kept darting in the direction of someone she wasn't sure how they managed to exist. She knew she was supposed to be paying attention to Krauss, but her focus was elsewhere. And she didn't even like Krauss, no matter how fascinated he was with her.

"How the hell did you survive?" Brynn demanded, glaring across the room at Hellboy and Meyers as Hellboy nursed a beer.

"Good question," Hellboy said, taking a swig of beer. "You see, I think it's because I'm very popular with the Unseen realm or maybe it's because I'm such a good guy that angels can't think about hurting me." He smirked. "I might even be God's favorite."

Abe shook his head. "God doesn't pick favorites and if he did…well, a demon would not be chosen…"

"Okay, the only person who can call me 'demon' and live is Tweety Bird," Hellboy stated before turning his attention back to Brynn. "Now Tweety Bird, your dad is a lousy shot. It was by luck that he killed all the others."

"Luck?" Meyers looked exasperated. "He was killing them all with one hand! We were lucky to get out of there alive!"

Brynn glowered at them before wincing as Abe poured alcohol on her wounds. "Abe that hurt!" she complained. Her eyes turned back to Meyers. "What happened to Nuada?"

Hellboy held out a beer. "Here, you're going to need this," he said before crushing his empty beer can on his head. "And I'm going to need another one."

Abe looked slightly outraged. "She does not need alcohol. She's only nineteen and we do not know the effects of alcohol on an angel."

"From what I remember of my experiments at parties, alcohol makes an angel half breed act like every other drunk teenager in the world…" Brynn noticed the look Abe sent her way. "What? I'm a teenager. I experiment with things."

"But you're smart enough to stay away from drugs, right?" Meyers asked, watching her pop open the beer can.

Brynn sent him a withering look. "Except for weed, yeah. Now, answer my question John or so help me I'll knock you into a pit of tooth fairies!"

Meyers sighed. "We left Nuada back at the park…It was the only way for us to get out of there alive…"

"So you left him to stand against my father alone?" Brynn's eyes narrowed and her wings rustled irritably.

"It would have been an honorable death," Meyers said. "He would have wanted to go out fighting…like a warrior."

Brynn glowered at him for a moment before throwing the beer down her throat in two gulps. Her eyes closed against fresh tears and she threw the beer can at Meyers' head. "How could you leave him like that?"

"He told you Tweety, it was the only way we got out alive," Hellboy said, handing her another beer with a slight smile on his face. "Besides, it's not like he died."

"What do you mean?"

Hellboy gestured up at the spiral staircase. Brynn turned her head and saw Nuala walking down the stairs. The once calm amber eyes of the Elven woman were now flooded with different emotions. Brynn couldn't help thinking that the woman looked even paler than normal.

"Brynn McKae!" She came to a stop before Brynn and held her hand out as if thinking about touching her. "You are safe…"

"Depends on what you think is safe," Brynn muttered, swaying a little as she heard music in her head and she took another swig of beer. "Julius is out there and he's pissed…I'm amazed that he hasn't found this place yet."

"He won't," Meyers assured her.

"Sorry if I don't find your word comforting Johnny boy. I believe angels are capable of anything."

"Not a fallen angel," Abe commented quietly. "He fell from God's favor when he came down here and took up a war against humans – God's children. His power is limited on Earth and he's not as invincible as he wants us to believe…"

"Good to know," Hellboy said, setting another beer next to Brynn. "Now all we need is for Steel Wings to hold still and I'll blow him to Hell."

Brynn smiled awkwardly and downed the rest of the beer. Nuala looked worried.

"Brynn, what are you doing?" Nuala inquired, moving out of the way as Abe started packing up his medical gear. "Filling your body with the toxins of alcohol is not something I believe you should be doing."

"You're right," Brynn said, holding up a hand. "I should be out there, making sure that Julius is…bashing his skull against the wall…big bloody mess, you know?" She hiccupped and visibly shook herself. "And you know what else? I have to find your twin…He needs a good talking to." She poked herself in the chest. "He stabbed me with his spear, you know? And not the fun one either…" She giggled and opened the other beer. "Look! HB's rubbed off on me! Ew! Hic!"

Hellboy smiled and wrapped an arm around Brynn's shoulders. "I think I like her better this way. What do you think Abe?"

"I think it's time to cut her off," Abe said, reaching for the beer can in Brynn's hands. "Brynn, give it here."

"Mine!" Brynn turned away from him and chugged down her beer. She shook it for the last drop and turned back towards him. "Here you go. It's yours now."

She pushed herself off the table and looked around, holding her hands out for balance. Liz came storming in the room, fire shining in her eyes. Hellboy glanced at her and quickly hid the beer container behind his back.

"Brynn!" Liz exclaimed, watching her stumble around drunkenly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Um…spinning?" Brynn smiled slightly. "Want to spin too?"

"You've unleashed two monsters on this world and here you are, getting drunk!" Liz snapped, cutting through the haze that had settled over Brynn's mind slightly. "Nuada and Julius! And you've let them walk all over you!" She poked Brynn in the chest. "I thought you were better than that! But I was wrong."  
"Liz?" Hellboy walked slowly over to her, cautiously even. "I don't think this is the time for a chick fight…though it'd be funny to see how fast Tweety lights up with all the alcohol in her system…" He chuckled and looked at Brynn, seeing her mouth hanging open stupidly. "I bet you could take her down easily."

"Don't think that you're not in trouble either, Red," Liz hissed, glaring up at him. "And there won't be any sweet talking to get you out of it!"

"Tweety! You got me in trouble!" Hellboy complained, his tail swishing. "Are you happy now?"

"Delighted," Brynn commented dully, staring at Liz with glazed eyes. "Do you hate me now?"

"No," Hellboy said.

"Yes," Liz answered, causing everyone to stare at her in surprise. "I hate what you've become, Brynn. You used to be the golden child – do no wrong, always good – but lately you've been making stupid decisions that could seriously hurt the world and all you do is cry, bleed, and screw your stupid boyfriend." She crossed her arms. "Nuala's told us the things he says around you, how he picks at your human side and you just sit there and take it like it means nothing to you. What happened to the old Brynn who wouldn't stand for anyone talking bad about either half of her genes?"

Brynn blinked and looked away, thinking. There was too much fog in her brain, she couldn't think clearly with it hovering over her mind. "I think she died…" Brynn whispered, looking at Liz once more. "Once upon a time, I was strong enough to handle anything anyone sent my way, but you've never let me fight for anything on my own. All of you have spoon fed me all my life and there was no need for me to fight back…not as macho as I once was, anyway…and Nuada, there won't be any drastic changes to his disgust of the human race without my help, so stop being a bitch Liz and leave me the hell alone."

"Bitch?" Liz's eyes lit up and one of her hands ignited. "Do you want to run that by me again?"

"Bi-t-ch." Brynn's wings fluttered and she danced a few paces away from her, spinning in circles. "Bee-o-ch!"

Hellboy stepped in the way of Liz when she started to go after Brynn. "Babe, think about what you're doing before you do it. She's drunk and has a tiny bird brain. We can't really hold her accountable for what she says or does while she's intoxicated, can we?"

Liz glared up at him and extinguished the flames. "Keep your _pet_ in check HB." With a last disgusted look at Brynn, she turned and headed for the door.

"Bye-bye," Brynn said, waving stupidly. "Don't come back and darken my library again."

Liz slammed the door behind her and a book fell off the shelf next the door. Brynn felt an odd moment of clarity and held her hand out as if reaching for something only she could see. Nuala's hand was also reaching out, but she quickly pulled it back.

_Brynn…_

"He's here," Brynn and Nuala breathed.

"Who's here?" Hellboy asked. "Steel Wings or Prince Dark?"

Brynn sat down on the floor and stared intently at the doors. "Prince Dark and Yummy."

"He's very angry," Nuala whispered, looking at Abe with fear in her eyes. "All he wants is the angel…"

Hellboy faced the doors and smirked. "He can try to take Tweety, but it's not happening on my watch."

Brynn frowned when the doors didn't open. She drew her legs under her and pushed herself to her feet, swaying awkwardly. The angel almost fell over, but strong hands steadied her. She melted at the touch of those hands and felt the eyes of the room on her as she stood there.

"Um…Hellboy," Abe said quietly. "He's already here."

Hellboy turned around and saw the man steadying Brynn. "About time you showed up, Prince Dark."

"Hello demon," Nuada's cool voice floated from behind her.

Brynn glanced down at the hands that gripped her arms lightly and her frown deepened. "You are an idiot," she whispered, half expecting him to throw out the line 'we meet again'.

Meyers threw a hand out and hit a red button. An alarm went off and soon the room was full of men dressed in black suits. Brynn felt an odd feeling of déjà vu with so many guns pointed at her. Nuada released her from his grip and moved around her, putting himself in the line of fire.

"What are you doing here?" Meyers demanded, holding his gun at the ready. "Don't you know that you're not welcome here?"

Nuada said nothing to him, choosing to look at his frightened sister instead. "Sister, I have come to speak with you and…Brynn."  
"Guess what pal," Hellboy said, marching to the front of the crowd. "You ain't talking to either of them, where you're going. No, Krauss probably has something special planned for you."

Brynn's wings opened, but she couldn't make a forceful wind come. She hiccupped and fell back on the floor.

"Go with them, brother," Nuala encouraged as the men closed in on Nuada. "I shall speak with you when they permit me to."

"Very well."

Brynn watched the men escort Nuada away and frowned, playing with the hem of her dress. "Idiots, all of them."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Please leave a contribution in the review page and I'll be really happy. And when I'm happy, the Nuada Muse in my head is happy as well which leads to MORE stories! Yay! So review me please! **


	13. Chapter 13

Brynn stood in a small room, listening to Krauss interrogate Nuada in another room. So far, Nuada hadn't said anything except that he would only speak to her or his sister. Krauss had shot down that simple request and had continued on with the conversation like the request had not been made. Brynn flipped a switch and a TV monitor flickered to life, revealing the room that Nuada was being interrogated in.

"What did you hope to gain in summoning an angel of death to this world?" Krauss asked, his accent thick and annoying to Brynn's ears.

Nuada was silent, his eyes flashing in the direction of the camera situated in the room. Brynn couldn't help thinking that he knew she was watching him.

_What are you doing here?_ She wanted to know the answer to that simple question and a dozen more. Brynn hoped that Krauss would soon give up and give the reigns over to someone who would be better at getting answers from the stubborn prince.

_Brynn…_

Brynn shuddered as the ghostly word echoed in her mind. She had long forgotten whose voice that was. Was it her mother's? Or Nuada's? Or maybe even her conscience? Or was it Julius?

She shook her head. She didn't want to think about any of them. She didn't want to think at all. All she wanted was to make everything right again and then be locked up where she wouldn't cause anymore harm.

"Would I be better off dead?" Brynn whispered, hugging herself. "Would the world be better off?"

"Well, let's see," Kendra said, appearing by her side with Nuala. "If you had died at the park, Nuada would have gone nuts and killed about…oh, two dozen people at that place before going on a suicidal trip. From there, the Unseen Kingdom would lose all sense of civility with the human world and chaos would ensue…And you would be floating on cloud nine with your God."

"My brother does not want you to be thinking such things," Nuala commented, watching Brynn look at them somberly. "_I _don't want you to think such things. You are a vibrant life, Brynn McKae; do not think of extinguishing that life because of one mistake."  
"Yeah, just because that mistake could cause the deaths of thousands of people, don't think about adding yourself to the statistic," Kendra added helpfully.

Brynn shook her head again and blinked stupidly as she looked at the TV monitor. "I…can't think…There is a fog in there…a killer…"

"Headache?" Kendra offered kindly.

The angel nodded.

"That's what we call a hangover, sweetheart," Kendra crooned, wrapping an arm around Brynn's shoulders. "I've had plenty of them, so I know a thing or two about dealing with them. And guess what? Coffee doesn't really help, but aspirin will take care of that nasty headache."

Nuala moved to stand in front of the monitor, watching her brother sit there like stone as Krauss asked another question. "He will not answer…"

"He'll only answer if one of you go in there and talk with him," Kendra stated, gesturing at the other two women in the room. "But we all know that Krauss will not let either of you in there. There's too much liability attached to the two of you. Especially now that we have Julius in play because of our little angel's bloody tears…"

"Don't bring him up," Brynn whispered, closing her eyes. "I don't want to think about him or what I've done…I just want him gone."  
"Sorry dear, it's not your birthday. You can't make wishes and expect them to come true." Kendra's white eyes glowed slightly. "Krauss is about to give up…Good thing too. I had a bet that he'd only be in there for six hours and now HB owes me two hundred dollars. Ka-ching!"

Nuala's eyes were sad as she watched Krauss climb to his feet and walk out of the view of the camera. "Oh my dear brother, where did Father go wrong?" she asked quietly, holding her hand out towards the monitor. "Was there anything I could have done to keep you from turning this way?"

"Not a thing," Brynn whispered, staring at the TV monitor. Nuala sent her a questioning look. "That's what he's thinking…I don't want to know what's going on in his head and he's good at hiding it from me, but sometimes…" She shook her head sadly and turned away from the burning eyes of Nuada. "I'm just not ready for this kind of thing."

"You seemed ready when you jumped in bed with him," Kendra commented with a smirk. "Don't tell me you want to take it all back."

Brynn sighed and watched the door knob turn. Krauss entered the room and bowed to the three women. Brynn looked at him for a moment before looking away. She couldn't shake the feeling of unseen eyes upon her when she looked at him. Disappointed eyes like the Professor's.

"Ladies," he said. "I know you've been watching the interrogation for awhile now."

"You can't really call it an interrogation if the other member doesn't speak," Kendra pointed out, brushing back a strand of her ever-moving hair. "He's not going to give you any answers Krauss, so you might as well give up. And if you think you can send Meyers in there because Meyers is the biggest threat to Nuada's relationship with Brynn, you'll be condemning Meyers to a slow, painful death."

"Well Kendra, what do you suppose we do?" Krauss asked, hooking his hands together behind his back.

Kendra smiled, flashing sharp canines. "Give him what he wants."

"Give him what he wants?"

"Please Krauss," Nuala said, taking a step forward. "If you would just let me speak with my brother, I believe I can procure the answers that you are looking for."

"He'll know your intentions right off the bat," Kendra warned, crossing her arms. "Nuada's not stupid, Nuala. He knows you're working for the Bureau now. He doesn't trust you much anymore. The only person he knows he can trust is standing in this room like a sad sob story." Her eyes turned to Brynn. "He'll only admit anything to you."

Brynn felt the eyes of the room lock on her. "I…I don't really want to talk to him."

"You don't have a choice," Kendra stated. "It's you or Hellboy's going to have to rough him up some, putting Nuala in harm's way."

Brynn saw the imploring look in Nuala's gaze. She didn't want the Elven princess to be hurt. Even if she barely knew the woman, she felt attached to her. It went beyond their shared connection to Nuada and was deeper than Brynn could put words to.

"Brynn, will you speak with Prince Nuada?" Krauss inquired, holding a hand out to her.

Brynn kept her hands firmly behind her back. "I'll talk to him _after _I have some breakfast."

"Fair enough," Krauss said, opening the door that led out of the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn took breakfast in the cafeteria, at a table by herself. She could feel the eyes of others on her, but none of them were foolish enough to approach her. If she wanted to be truthful, she'd admit that she wasn't really hungry. Her stomach hurt and she felt like puking with each piece of fruit she ate.

"Is this seat open?" Meyers' kind voice asked.

"No."

Meyers sat down next to her anyway. "Brynn, tell me you had more on your plate than that…You don't need to starve yourself."

"You don't need to tell me what to do," Brynn shot back coldly. She stared at her food. "I thought you died…"

"Were you happy?"

"No! How could you ask me something like that?" Brynn smacked the table, glaring at him. "How dare you ask me if I found happiness in the death of another! Do you think I'm that cold?"

"You said you hated me."

"I do, but that doesn't mean I want you to die. It means that I'll be mean to you and do exactly the opposite of what you want me to do. That's it."

Meyers leaned forward and took a sip of his coffee. "Brynn…I thought you were dead. I saw you collapse with Nuada's spear in your chest and I thought it was all over. That I'd never see you smile again or get battered with your wings. I thought it was all gone because you pulled off one last act of nobility…"

"Well, I'm alive and you won't get another act of nobility out of me again." She poked him. "If you're about to get shot, stabbed, bitten, or killed in any fashion and I'm there, don't count on me to save your ass."

Meyers stared at her with a small smile on his face. Brynn sent one more pointed glare in his direction before looking back at her food. She shoved a piece of pineapple in her mouth and looked around the room, noticing how people quickly averted their eyes.

"Brynn, I don't want you to go speak with Nuada alone," Meyers stated, losing his smile. "There's no telling what he could do if he gets you all by yourself."

"We'll just talk Meyers," Brynn told him. "That's all I'm willing to do right now…and he knows it."

Meyers looked at her intently and Brynn wondered what he was thinking. He leaned towards her and motioned her forward like he had a secret he was willing to tell. Brynn leaned in towards him and he captured her lips with his.

Brynn pulled back quickly, anger quickly flooding her system. She smacked him so hard that he fell from his seat and Brynn towered over him, her wings opening threateningly.

"What the hell was that?" Brynn demanded, glaring down at him. "Why did you kiss me, Meyers?"

Meyers climbed to his feet awkwardly. "Brynn…I like you. Probably more than I should."

"You think?" Brynn crossed her arms, but her wings remained open, touching the wall at the tips.

"Brynn, I fell in love with you a long time ago," Meyers admitted, pointing in the direction of the hall. "And that man that we have locked up doesn't want anything more from you than your power and your body. You shouldn't be treated that way…You deserve better."

"And you think you're better?" Brynn demanded coldly.

"I just want you to be happy and loved by someone who wouldn't use you. Even if it's not me."  
"But you hope to hell that I choose you. Well, go to Hell, John Meyers. I love Nuada because he's never used me. You did. You might call what you've done to me 'love' but you'll never hold a candle to Nuada." Brynn kicked him in the leg and marched past him as he doubled over, clutching his leg. "Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be."

"Your mother's missing, Brynn," Meyers announced through gritted teeth. "Ask your lover what he did to her because we know he had something to do with her disappearance."

Brynn hesitated in the hallway and glanced back at him. "I will…"  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nuada's eyes were on the door the moment Brynn turned the door knob. He didn't offer her a smile, not even a smirk and she found she couldn't force one. She saw her blood staining his hands and his shirt and felt a little sick, but she forced back the bile.

"Little angel, you do not know the good it does to my heart to see you alive," Nuada commented quietly, holding a hand out despite the chain that was wrapped around it. "Please sit."

Brynn moved over to the table and sat down in the chair that he indicated. She looked at him and saw the glimmer of happiness in his eyes. "How did you survive?" she asked him quietly.

Nuada smirked and held his hand out to her. Brynn reached out hesitantly and thought she heard someone whisper at her not to. Her skin touched his and their minds opened to each other. Brynn stared at him intently.

"I fought your father," Nuada said in a language that Brynn didn't understand without their skin touching. "He saw who I was and caught a glimpse of the necklace that I gave you before he vanished with you, little angel. He knows that you are my lover and therefore he will not kill me."

"But he said he would," Brynn commented, amazed to hear the foreign tongue come rolling off her lips. "You attacked him…"

"Yes."

"And he was really mad."

"I know."

"Nuada…"

Brynn didn't want to bring up what Meyers had done or said, but she couldn't stop the thoughts from crossing over. Nuada's eyes narrowed and his grip on her hand tightened as he rose to his feet. Brynn winced; forcing back a cry of pain as she hesitantly looked up at him.

"Where is he?" Nuada demanded, glaring at the camera behind Brynn's head. "Where is this human who dared to lay his unworthy lips upon this angel?"  
"Angel?" Brynn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Is that all I am to you? An angel? What about my human blood? Does that count for anything?"  
Nuada looked down at her, his eyes losing the heat of hatred. "That's not the point, little an-"

"Do not call me that anymore!" Brynn ordered, wrenching her hand away from him. "I am not just an angel. I'm part human and you're going to have to accept all of me or walk away without any of me because I'm not going to change anything for you."

"But you will jump through hoops to satisfy that damned human," Nuada hissed. "That human you saved at the park…"

"Just because I saved another creature doesn't mean anything. I want nothing to do with Meyers, especially after he kissed me…but I can't deny the fact that he's been there for me many more times than you have. I owe him."

Nuada's eyes were cold as he watched her move around the room, hitting her fist against the wall. "You owe him nothing. If he hadn't meddled in your affairs, you wouldn't have suffered a mortal wound."

"And what about you?" Brynn crossed her arms, glaring at him. "If you hadn't come searching for me in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"You know why I had to search for you."

"To kill me. That was your original goal, wasn't it? Well I got news for you, Prince Silverlance. I'm not going to die easily, so try again some other time." Brynn turned away from him, staring up at the camera she knew was there, but couldn't see. "And next time make sure it really kills me, so I can save the drama for someone who really cares."

"I do not want you dead."

Brynn heard him curse in the language of the Old Ones and then start speaking very quickly in his native tongue. She didn't bother listening to him, knowing that she wouldn't understand him no matter how hard she tried.

"Nuada," she said, cutting him off. "There's something else I think you should know about me."  
Nuada fell silent. Brynn waited two heartbeats before opening her mouth.

"I'm pregnant."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Dun-dun-dun! There you go people. The news that Brynn is pregnant… it might have come a bit soon, but that'll be explained in the next chapter. So until then, read and review por favor. Thanks! ~ Scarlet**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So, my thanks go out to the reviewers for keeping my spirits up and for the criticisms. It's perfect practice for my original stories…**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It felt like a thousand mouths had sucked all the air from the room for a moment. Brynn stood there, waiting for something to happen whether it was Krauss storming in the room or Nuada breaking free of his chains. Nothing happened though. The room remained just as she had left it, Nuada and her completely alone in that tiny little room.

"Pregnant?" Nuada's voice was soft. "You know already…?"

"Abe told me earlier," Brynn told him, tearing her eyes away from the unseen camera. "He's apparently really good at finding these things out…He has his methods."

"He does." Nuada said and Brynn wasn't sure if it was a question or his agreement. "Brynn…please sit."

Brynn turned to see him gesturing at the seat she had vacated moments ago. There was a new softness in his eyes now and an emotion she had only seen in his eyes on two separate occasions. Love.

"How can you tell so soon?" he demanded, taking his seat once Brynn was settled on her chair. "We did not mate more than two nights ago…"

Brynn looked down at the table, trying to think of how to put words to her thoughts. "Angel births are different than normal births…my mother had me at four and a half months, amazing and alarming the doctors at the same time. Abe believes that the child I carry – should it live beyond the first week – will follow the same suit and be born _prematurely_."

"Prematurely," Nuada repeated, confusion furrowing his brow. "Do you know what it is or is it too soon for even Abraham Sapien to tell you?"

Brynn shrugged and turned her head slightly, hearing her name whispered. She could feel bottomless anger, overpowering the happiness that came from the room next to this one. It was coupled with despair and anguish, black emotions that Brynn did not want to feel. She didn't want to recognize them.

_Do they come from Meyers? Or Krauss? Who?_

"Why do you look so troubled?" Nuada asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"My mother," Brynn whispered, looking down at her hands on the table. "Jo – someone told me that they saw you enter my mother's house…Why did you go there?"

Nuada sat back for a moment, regarding her through cool eyes. "It was your last thought before your consciousness was closed against me…_Protect my mother, protect Daria_." He smirked slightly. "I find that I am growing fonder of the woman that raised you, much more so than I feel for the man that sired you…He, I will have to kill."

"I'm not going to stop you," Brynn promised before leaning forward. "What have you done with my mother?"

"I have hidden her away."

"Where?"

"A place that only I will find her, but fear not for her, my love. She is safe and well cared for." He held up a finger when Brynn opened her mouth to ask another question about her mother. "I shall not answer another question about your mother's whereabouts. It is safer to leave that knowledge entrusted with me alone. We wouldn't want your father to find her, now would we?"

Brynn blanched at the thought of that horrible creature with her mother. He could do so many things to her that would leave her a different woman…or worse. Brynn couldn't think of a world without her mother just as she was. It didn't seem real. She didn't want it to seem real.

"No…" Brynn breathed, shaking her head. "We don't want that."

"And I can't have you running outside where you are open to his attacks," Nuada said, glancing around. "Though I hardly think that this place is truly safe enough against an angel with even diminishing power…"

"Diminishing power?"

"Your father fell from God's favor today with the deaths of so many men," Nuada explained as if she were a child. "He attacked those men on his own terms, not your God's. And angels that fall to Earth lose their powers because this is a place of sin and second chances…" He smirked. "But your father is out of second chances."

Brynn leaned forward and touched his hand. "Can he be killed then? Now that his power is diminishing, I mean? He's not immortal anymore, right?"

"Ah, if that was true, I would have killed him myself when I had the chance. He is still too powerful for one mere mortal to attack."

Brynn's eyebrow rose when she one of his thoughts wandered into her mind before he could snatch it back. "You're really considering _that_? I don't think he'd be willing to work with you after all that you've done. I don't think anyone would want to work with you after all the trouble you cost them."  
Nuada gave her a pointed look and took hold of her hand once more. Brynn felt an ancient language fill her head once more, meshing with her English until she understood almost all the words.

"I do not plan on staying here much longer," Nuada announced in the ancient language, lifting their joined hands slightly. "These friends of yours try my patience."

"Well, if you would have opened your mouth and told them what was going on, I'm sure they would have discussed your proposal." She shrugged before speaking again in the same language. "I don't think they would have gone along with it until they had more proof that you don't mean any harm."

"Don't I?"

"I'm putting my faith in you. I believe you've changed from a cold-hearted jerk who hates all human kind and I'm going to keep believing that until there is enormous, glaring proof that you haven't changed."

"And if I haven't, little angel? What then?"

Brynn tried to stare evenly into his eyes, but she found she couldn't. She looked away, focusing on their joined hands. "I…"

Nuada laughed as her one of her thoughts crossed over to him. "An amusing idea. How do you expect to kill me when Nuala is connected to me? Or would you willingly cause your beloved Abraham heartbreak?"

Brynn shook her head. "I wouldn't, but I'd have to find a way to stop you from harming humans. Most of them aren't the enemy."

"Who made you the judge of all humans?"

"Who made _you _thejudge of the humans so that all of your judgment condemns them to death?" Brynn shot back. Nuada smirked at her. "Listen Nuada, you won't get out of here. Everyone is on high alert and there are eyes everywhere. It's impossible to get out of the compound when they really want you to stay."

"Nothing is impossible, little angel."

"I told you not to call me that. My name is Brynn. Brynn Leandra McKae."

"I thought you enjoyed pet names. But I suppose mine doesn't match up to _pet _as Abraham so calls you." His eyes smoldered as he looked at her. "Why do you shy away from the honor of your blood and accept the low terms of _pet_?"

Brynn sighed and shook her head, thinking, but also realizing that thinking was dangerous around him. "It's not that I care what you call me – anything can be a pet name – but you constantly point out my angelic blood and never seem to care about the other part of me…Abe, he doesn't mean to lower me down to servitude under him by calling me 'pet', it's just something he calls me because he can't think of anything better to call me. Besides, growing up I was like an animal, so it fits."

"The name I call you fits as well and therefore, I shall ignore your request and call you anything I please." He laughed lightly at her next thoughts. "Oh, do not fear, little angel. I shall not call you a derogatory name. I pride myself on being civil." He leaned in close to her. "Do you want to know how to kill an angel?"

Brynn nodded and leaned in close to him. "Tell me how."

Nuada read her next thought before she could snatch it back and leaned away from her. "No. I do not want you anywhere near that insufferable creature. You are not skilled in the art of war nor are you in the condition to fight anyone. Leave the war against that death angel to people better suited to fight him."

"Like you?" Brynn almost wanted to laugh. "Nuada, he almost killed you and HB. Do you honestly believe that you can fight him?"

"I do."

"Then HB is just as capable of taking him down." Brynn decided. "Maybe not right now, while Julius still has so much of his power, but in a couple of days…" Nuada gave her a look. "Don't look at me like that! He obviously defeated you because the Golden Army didn't wipe out the human race. That makes him just as qualified to take down Julius as you, if not more. So, if you want a chance to do something good for the collective world and remove the stain from your name, you're going to have to work with HB and the Bureau."

Nuada's eyes held her gaze for a moment, but his thoughts did not cross over to her through their bond. Whatever he was thinking, she was not privy to and she wondered if she really wanted to know half of what went through his mind.

_I don't want to see that darkness in him…_Brynn thought in the safety of the dark corners of her mind that she had yet to welcome him to, pulling her hand into her lap, severing their connection. _I don't want to think of him as a dark creature that could kill so many people before they could defend themselves…I believe he's changed, no matter what the others think, but I know that darkness remains…that dark hate…_

The chains around Nuada's wrists clinked, breaking her out of her reverie. "What are you thinking?"  
"That's really none of your business," Brynn told him, scooting her chair back, preparing to leave. "Do you mind if I talk with the others? I'll only tell them what they need to know, not any of the personal talk, but I think they should know of your proposal. Any plan we can get to remove Julius from the picture will be helpful."

"Speak of what you want, precious angel," Nuada said, rising as she did as a sign of respect. "I may not be here when they seek me, but I shall be there when you need me."

Brynn walked around the table and awkwardly hugged him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid."

"The same for you," Nuada whispered, kissing the top of her head. "Do not leave this compound until the angel of death has been handled and reveal to no one your location. The slightest bit of information will give him access to you…"

"I'll be careful," Brynn promised, backing away from him. "Good luck."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn did not look up as she walked down the hall after a short session with Krauss, Abe, and Nuala in which she discussed Nuada's ideas. She could feel the stares and the varying emotions of the people around her, but she didn't want to meet anyone's gaze. All she wanted was to go the library and grab a William Shakespeare play like _Hamlet_, curl up in the corner, and get lost in the book.

"Brynn!" someone called, running down the hall after her.

Brynn spun around and threw her fist out. She winced as pain radiated up her arm, but at least he doubled over. "What do you want HB?"  
"Tweety, you seriously need to work on your greetings," Hellboy stated, shaking off the pain. "You can't go around punching people like that."

"Speak for yourself," Brynn shot back, crossing her arms. "So what do you want?"

"Do you want a couple of cats?" Hellboy asked. "You look like you could use someone to cheer you up and love." He smirked. "Maybe they'll be great to have around your baby."

"Kiss my ass HB. I'm not in the mood." She turned away from him and continued on her way down the hall.

Hellboy was not so easily shot down. He followed her. "Ah…c'mon Tweety…What happened to your mood? You were always so happy before. What changed?"

"Everything," Brynn muttered darkly. "I made a huge mistake and thousands of people could die because of it."

"No one is going to die. Big Baby won't let Steel Wings mess with anyone." He patted the gun affectionately. "So don't worry your airhead about it."

"HB!"

Hellboy caught her fist this time. Brynn ground her teeth together and glared up at him.

"You need to calm down," Hellboy said. "We don't want you to molt all over the place, now do we? No…" He looked down into her eyes. "Brynn, I know you're thinking about going out there and facing Julius on your own, but for once, let me clean up your mess. Your mother would be upset with me and Father would haunt me from his grave if I let anything bad happen to you. So do me a favor and stay here. Don't leave until I make the world a little safer for all of us…"

Slowly Brynn relaxed her facial muscles. His eyes were full of concern and pure heroism, but Brynn couldn't help thinking that she saw the light of love in there. A crazy, uncle-big brother kind of love. She pulled her hand away from him, noting how he let it go rather quickly.

"All right HB," she murmured. "I won't leave the compound…not until Julius is dead."

Hellboy nodded and started walking away. Brynn watched him disappear down the hall, thinking it odd how a demon and an angel half-breed could become such close friends. But she wouldn't trade it for the world…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: So how do you like my cheap soap opera? How about my Mary Sue? My OOC prince? I'm very lucky to have great reviewers like you who tell me how it is. Thank you friends and reviewers all! You make this little country girl so happy! Loves and puppies for everyone! And don't forget to check out my new Nuada story 'Over My Head' – it'll poke even more fun at my stories, so have at it then! ~ Scarlet **


	15. Chapter 15

Brynn sat in the library on the stairs, reading _Antony and Cleopatra_, one of her favorite Shakespearean plays. She could hear someone moving around the room below her, but didn't bother looking up. Her mind was so absorbed in the play that she felt her worries and troubles go away.

"Brynn," Kendra sang, gliding up the stairs. "Brynn…I told you this would happen, didn't I?"

Brynn glanced up, tearing her eyes away from the old fashioned words. "Told me what was going to happen?"  
"That you would conceive a child…" Kendra smiled at her. "Of course, I never told you who the father was, but I assumed you'd figure it out yourself after you put yourself out there like you did with Nuada. You shameless whore…"

"Kendra!"

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch. I was the same way with all of my consorts…why do you think I have so many children?" Kendra's smile fell. "Of course, some of my children are dead now and the others are hiding out as pathetic psychics…None of them have developed their Gift…In some ways, they remind me of you."

"How so?"

"Well, they're children and don't think before they do something, for starters. And you haven't developed your angelic powers since you started becoming aware of them…really it's a waste of powers if you're not going to use them."

"Says the Oracle who let herself get chained in a room for three years," Brynn shot back, looking back at her book. "You could be helping the world out more if you would just go out there and use your powers to help everyone, not just when they're going to be attacked by a demon or monster of some sort."  
"Touché, little angel of death." She smirked and examined her nails as if they were more interesting than the current conversation. "What do you expect to do in the next couple of days?"

"I already promised to hide out here until HB or Nuada or both kill Julius, so there's not much I can do. Why is there something I should know?"

"Yeah, you're not going to be allowed to sit idly by while the boys clean up your mess. You're going to have to help too."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, idiot. This problem is all your fault, Brynn dear. When your father is supernatural and abandons you, it's best not to go looking for him. Especially when you don't know if he's on the right side or not. But you had to learn that the hard way and now, you're going to have to clean up your mess with the help of others if you want to prevent the deaths of thousands of innocent humans."

Brynn blinked and closed her book, no longer finding it satisfying. "I know it's my fault, but what can I do? I don't know how to fight – the professor never let Hellboy or anyone else teach me. The best I can do is knock him around with my wings, but what good will that do if he can do the same thing to me with more force?"

"Oh, your father has more than just wing force for you to worry about," Kendra warned, preparing to count on her fingers. "He has wing force, lightning in his fists, and a touch of death, super speed, a cry that could make the ears bleed…I could go on, but those are the only powers I've seen him use in my visions."

"But he's losing his power, right?"

"Yes, but not as quickly as everyone thinks he is." Kendra looked almost sympathetic. "He knows what he wants and he plans on getting it anyway he can. And he wants four things right now. One, being the death of all humans and lesser beings. Two is Hellboy's head on a silver platter or was it platinum?" She snapped her fingers. "It was diamond."

"Ken-"

"Three would be Daria, his life mate. And four is the best and worst at the same time…He wants you, Brynn. You are one of his ultimate goals now that he knows how feisty you are. Really Brynn, why did you have to fight him in the first place?"

"I'm sorry but he was going to kill everyone! I had to fight him."

"Yeah, well….don't get comfortable here. You've got some more fighting to do."

_Brynn…_

The whispering voice was back again. Brynn stood up slowly, her white dress clinging like a second skin to her body as she headed down the spiral staircase. Kendra threw an arm out, catching Brynn across the stomach.

"Whatever it is, ignore it," Kendra ordered sharply.

_Brynn…_

"Yes?" Brynn whispered, forcing her way down the stairs with Kendra in tow.

_Brynn…come…_

Brynn put a hand up to her temple, closing her eyes. She reached out blindly with the other hand and quickly snapped her hand back as if burned by thin air.

"Nuada's escaped," Brynn told Kendra moments before the alarms went off.

"Your lover has only been here for sixteen hours and he's escaping? I thought he had more patience than that."

Brynn ignored her and rushed out of the library. People were milling about in the halls, dressed in black suits. Brynn jerked back when she saw all the guns that were out, but none were pointed at her. She tried to look calm as she wandered the hall, listening intently for any news of Nuada's whereabouts. All the while, her eyes scanned the area for any sign of the prince.

_Silverlance, where are you? _Brynn set the thought free in the hall, feeling dizzy from all the apprehension and anger she was picking up from the employees of the Bureau.

_Brynn…_

Brynn moved through the crowd, fixating her mind on two sources of calm and one of bitter anger. She padded barefoot down a hall and entered a room that she'd only been in once with Hellboy. It was the room where all their weapons were stashed with the ammo and mystical devices. Brynn had been really little when she had been in there with Hellboy, but that was because he had been forced on babysitting duty and had been called on the job at the same time.

But this was not the past. This was a stalemate.

The angel looked between Hellboy and Nuada, each with weapon in hand. Liz stood beside Hellboy with fire in her eyes, looking like she was waiting for the signal to burn everyone in the room to a crisp. Brynn felt three pairs of eyes flit in her direction, but no one moved.

"Little angel, you should not be here," Nuada told her, never taking his eyes off Hellboy or the pyro. "You should be somewhere protected from the death angel."

"She is somewhere protected from Steel Wings, Liver Pants," Hellboy said, earning a brief look of pure hatred from Nuada. "He can't get her here. No one gets in or out without my say so."

"Is that so, demon?" Nuada cocked his head to one side. "Then how is it that I have managed to enter and exit on my own terms?"

"Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're evil and don't follow mortal laws," Hellboy commented, waving his gun around. "If you had any honor, you'd knock first, get invited in, and then let me kick your pale ass around for awhile."

Brynn stepped closer to the scene, unsure of which side she should be on. Hellboy seemed to notice her for the first time.

"Hey Mama Bird," Hellboy called. "Come to watch your man get his ass handed to him?"

Liz sent her a death glare from Hell. "Get out of here Brynn."

"I'm staying," Brynn told her. "And Hellboy, I thought Abe or Krauss would have told you what I discussed with them about Nuada."

"Eh…Maybe they did, but as far as I'm concerned he's still on the wrong side and I can't have him running to Steel Wings." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Here, hold onto this for me, will ya?"

Brynn awkwardly caught the object he threw at her and looked down at it. Her eyes went wide and her hands trembled as the thing came alive and wrapped itself around her arms. She'd seen it before when she was little and knew it was a thing of evil. Great, black evil.

"Nuada get out of here!" she exclaimed before falling to the ground as the thing threw off her balance, spreading its vines around her with tainting evil.

The last thing she saw before the vines covered her eyes and choked her out of consciousness was Nuada's stricken face as he turned away from her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"_HB, what's that?" Brynn asked, pointing at three glowing balls in a case._

"_Um…those are bombs," Hellboy said, hardly glancing at them. "They make a loud boom and a pretty light, but cause overall damage for the government to pay up on."_

"_Can I play with them?" Brynn reached towards one of the balls, but Hellboy knocked her hand aside. _

"_You can play with them when you're bigger, Tweety Bird," Hellboy stated, leading her away from the bombs. "But right now, the only person who gets to play with anything is me. Understand?"_

_Brynn shook her head and pointed at his gun belt. "I want Big Baby."_

_Hellboy sighed and drew Big Baby, checking it for ammo. "Here. Don't poke your eye out with it. I've got things to collect." Brynn pointed the gun at her face, blowing in the holes. "And never, never point a gun at your face, Tweety. It leads to a nasty clean up and a body bag."_

_Brynn was confused. "What's a body bag?"_

"_A bag you put a body in when someone's dead."_

"_Oh." Brynn quickly pointed the gun away from her face and pretended to shoot some bad guys. "Pew-pew! Got you ugly pooh-pooh face!"_

_She didn't pay any attention to Hellboy as she wandered around the armory. Her eyes found a pretty, black, and flower-shaped object and Big Baby was quickly forgotten. She dropped the large gun on the floor and scooped up the pretty object._

"_Hellboy, it is so pretty!" she exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. _

"_Yeah, squirt. Big Baby is real pretty," Hellboy muttered, his back to her as he loaded up on guns and ammo._

_Brynn rolled her eyes and looked back at the object. Suddenly she felt sick and black vines moved around her wrists, snaking their way up her arms. Brynn felt her energy leaving her, her color draining as the vines encircled her. All she was aware of was this cold, evil feeling welling up inside her, extinguishing her happiness._

"_Hell…boy…" Brynn choked out, losing her balance and falling to the floor. "Help…me!"_

"_Hold on Tweety," Hellboy said, gathering a few more things. "Just a minute…"_

_Brynn squirmed on the floor, but the vines wrapped around her tighter. "Hellboy!"_

"_What?" Hellboy turned around and saw her lying on the floor. "Damn! What the hell did you touch?"_

_Brynn shook her head and started to cry, but crying took too much energy and she didn't have much left. She gasped for air that would not fill her lungs and Brynn could feel the darkness closing in. Brynn realized that she was going to discover the use of a body bag and what it felt like to die…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn's eyes snapped open, but she could tell that something was wrong. Her breath was labored and her body was covered in a cold sweat. Her gaze shifted from person to person when she realized that they were standing in the room with her. They all took a step back and looked wary of her, but Brynn didn't understand why. All she felt was a cold, unnatural anger rising up in her.

"What the hell are you looking at?" she demanded in a cold voice.

"Uh, Tweety, I think you just went over to the dark side," Hellboy commented, being the only person who hadn't backed up at the sight of her. "Take a look at yourself."

Brynn looked up at the mirrored light above her. She drew her breath in as a hiss when the bright light temporarily blinded her. Then she saw something she didn't expect to and didn't want to see.

Her eyes were completely black now and her wings were jet black in color. Little lines of black crossed over her face, reminding her of Nuada's many scars. The change was unexpected, happening in a way she did not know, but she found that she didn't care much about it. Instead she cared about the not caring about it part.

"Hellboy what did you do to me?" Brynn demanded, glaring at him. "What was that black thing that you tossed at me?"

"You didn't recognize it?" Krauss asked and Brynn hissed at him. "Now, Ms. McKae that is not the way to handle this situation."

"I recognize it from the past when I was a little girl and HB let me play with it."

"You played with it without my permission," Hellboy interjected.

"You weren't paying attention to me!" Brynn snapped, her wings opening slightly.

"Ms. McKae, calm down," Krauss ordered gently. "This can easily be explained."

"Then explain it already Tin Man!"

Brynn felt arms wrap around her and looked down. The arms were blue with light striping across them, but Brynn didn't find comfort in Abe's arms. For once in her life, he could offer her no comfort.

"Ms. McKae, that object that Hellboy threw at you was a dahlia that had been infected with pure evil," Krauss explained calmly. "It was given to your mother nineteen years ago from Julius. He told her to give the dahlia to you when you turned three, but she felt the evil in it and gave it to us to be kept away from you."

"Why did he give her the dahlia?" Brynn questioned, resting her cheek lightly against Abe's chest.

"He wanted to infect you with evil, but again your mother did not want the dahlia to fall into your hands."

"It did though," Brynn whispered, her eyes narrowing. "I found it when I was five and it wrapped itself around me…"

"Yes," Abe said quietly. "Hellboy had to cut it away from you, but you'd already been infected with evil. The Professor had to bind you in a circle and performed a ritual that removed the evil. I had him erase the memory of your evil period because I knew that it was something that you shouldn't remember at such a young age." He looked over at Hellboy. "You should have known better than to give it to her."

"Hey, it was the only thing I thought of using that would keep her out of the way," Hellboy declared, not looking ashamed of what he had done. "It's not like she went crazy again and killed people."

Brynn felt sick to her stomach. "I killed people?"

"Yeah, Tweety. You killed two people when you were little. You screamed at them and made their brains explode on the inside of their skulls."

Brynn closed her eyes against her tears. Had she known the people she had killed? Had she killed them without a second thought? What had they done to deserve such a bloody end?

_Yes…_

Brynn dug her fingernails into Abe's arms unconsciously. She didn't want to remember what she had done; knowing that she really couldn't with the block the Professor had placed in her mind. She didn't want this.

"At least she's now perfect for her lover," Liz commented bitterly. "Dark for dark."

"Shut up you hateful bitch!" Brynn hissed at her, her memory of what Liz had said flooding back to her. "No one cares what you say because you're a complete idiot!"

Liz took a step forward, fire igniting in her eyes. Brynn opened her mouth to issue forth a scream that would make Liz think differently, but Abe clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh…Brynn pet, you need to calm down," Abe murmured, acting oblivious to her nails in his flesh. "We'll get this sorted out and you can go back to the way you once were."

"The evil cannot have set completely in your heart," Krauss stated, pulling a book out from behind him. "There is still time to reverse your change."

Brynn glowered at him and blew her breath in a huff against Abe's hand. "First tell me what the dahlia really is," she ordered, knowing that it was something bad.

Krauss hesitated as if unsure if she should hear the truth. "The dahlia…was derived from the bountiful evil in Julius' heart. In other words, the dahlia is part of Julius' heart and he is now trying to infect you with pure evil…to take you away from all that you hold dear, Brynn McKae."

"Oh…"

_Brynn…come to me…_

"Does that explain why I keep hearing a little voice in my head?"

Krauss seemed to do a double take. "You're hearing a voice? Does it sound like your father's?"

Brynn concentrated, listening for the voice. It said her name again and she nodded. "It's definitely Julius…is that a bad thing?"

"You're developing a bond with him," Krauss mumbled, rapidly flipping through the pages of the ancient tome in his hands. "We must perform the ritual to remove the evil from your body before he can determine your location."

Brynn's eyes wandered over to Nuala, finding her paler than she remembered with a stricken look on her face. She saw Nuada's eyes peering out at her through Nuala's eyes and looked away. No one should see her this way.

"Let me go Abe," she ordered quietly, removing her hands from his person. "Krauss may need your help in the ritual."

"Are you sure, Brynn?" Abe asked, looking down at her.

Brynn nodded and pushed him away from her. Her wings fluttered restlessly and Brynn had a feeling that she was going to lose control of them at any moment.

_How many people need to die because of me? _Brynn asked herself as Krauss cast a binding circle around her. _How much blood is necessary to sate the beast inside? Father, you are a monster…_

Brynn felt herself growing restless in the binding circle as Krauss began his ritual in Latin. The evil in her bubbled to the surface and she gnashed her teeth together, pacing the circle. Was it supposed to feel like this? Was this what happened when she was a little girl after she killed two people?

_You marvel in blood…break free and kill the opposition…you were meant to lead an army against the race of humans…do it Brynn last daughter of the angels…break free…_

Brynn stiffened and tried to open her wings, but she found that she couldn't. The binding circle was too small for her to fully open her wings. She felt the need to break free, but she knew she couldn't.

"You will die…" she hissed, unsure of whom she was speaking to. "I will kill you…"

Hellboy handed Krauss a vial of a clear liquid and Brynn felt her stomach clench uncomfortably at the sight of it. Holy water. The German opened the vial and flung the contents at her. Brynn cried out as the liquid burned her.

"Nuada…please help me," she whispered in a harsh voice as she fell to her knees.

Nuala reached for her, but Abe quickly drew her away, his eyes focused on the scene playing out before him. Brynn looked at the people around her through the curtain of her hair, her breath coming out in ragged pants. Hellboy was watching her with pity, but Liz was watching her with a ruthless smirk on her face.

_She should be the first to die…_

Brynn cried out again as Krauss flung more holy water on her. When had holy water become so toxic to her skin? Was this ritual really an exorcism like the one she had seen on television? She crumpled to the floor and felt alien words come from her lips. The volume increased as Krauss continued the ritual in Latin. She knew the words and for some reason, despised them.

_Or is it my father who despises them? _Brynn asked herself, closing her eyes as another spurt of holy water hit her. _A fallen angel…_

_You will all die! _

"Die…bastard…" Brynn hissed in Latin, still unsure of who she was speaking to. "Die…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: Ha! Another bad thing happened to her! Ain't that so Mary-Sue like of me? Well, I really do care what you people think, but whatever flames you send my way are heard, processed, and then are still less damaging than what the damaging thoughts I think of in regards to my work. **

**On a happier note, I am almost done with this story. I changed the ending and the time where it ends. The ending is coming at chapter 19. If I feel competent enough to write an epilogue, I'll do it, but right now, I'm a little out of it. Thanks for what reviews come my way and I hope you stick around for the conclusion of this story. Thanks! ~Scarlet **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I feel like I should apologize to you all. I've been acting bitter and sarcastic for the last few chapters and none of you deserve it. You've been faithful readers and you've offered helpful criticism which I plan to use if I ever make another story for Nuada. Thanks for all your patience and reviews. And I'm sorry.**

**OOOOOOOOOOO**

Brynn felt drained as she came to hours after the ritual. She felt dirty, contaminated, and used. She lifted her head slightly and looked down at her arm. It was as pale as ever, no black lines of evil tattooed on her flesh. She knew she should find a mirror to make sure that her eyes were back to their normal coloration, but she needed one more sign to know that she was not infected with evil anymore.

Brynn lowered one of her wings into her line of vision and saw that it was as white as snow. A sigh of relief was given and she drew her legs over the side of the bed she had been placed on. She raked a hand through her hair and climbed to her feet.

"Nuada…please don't be mad at HB," she whispered, staring at a wall but not really seeing it. "He's an idiot and idiots are bound to make a mistake or two…I think I'm better now…"

Hellboy was asleep outside of the room when Brynn walked through the door. A soft smile crossed her face as she leaned down and patted him on the head. He jerked awake and looked up at her, a look of guilt in his eyes.

"You're awake," he said, climbing to his feet. "And…normal."

"As normal as I ever was," Brynn agreed. "Hellboy, why did you throw the dahlia at me? Do you know what could have happened if the evil had completely set in my heart?"

"I knew what would happen, but I couldn't let you run away with Silverlance," Hellboy muttered, crossing his arms. "Don't act like you weren't thinking about leaving with him. I saw the look in your eyes. Kendra told you that you couldn't rely on us to clean up your mess, so you had it in your mind that you were going to leave with Silverlance and take on Steel Wings. I thought you always kept your promises, Tweety."

Brynn shrugged. "I was torn HB. Here I'm not wanted and out in the world I'm not wanted. The only person that really wants me – not counting Julius – is Nuada."  
"Do you really think that?" Hellboy asked, looking down at her. Brynn nodded. "Listen, if Liz has you thinking you're not wanted here, do what you're always good at and not listen to her. Lately she's been real moody because of the twins. Everything sets her off. Hell, my cats won't come out from under the bed because of her."

Brynn sighed and looked down at her feet, noting that she was still barefoot. Hellboy put a heavy hand on her shoulder and Brynn felt strength radiating from him.

"Everyone here wants to keep you safe," Hellboy told her. "Some want you so they can study a real angel. But others want you because they actually care about you. They'll bend over backwards to help you, to keep you protected from people like Steel Wings. I'll protect you by myself if it comes down to it."

Brynn looked up at him. "Hellboy, why wasn't I taught to fight?"

"Father didn't want you to become a fighter. He said angels were supposed to be peaceful creatures unless otherwise instructed by God. I taught you to throw punches and where to nail a guy, but that was all that I could teach you." He smirked. "Why? You thinking about fighting someone?"

"Maybe…"

"It won't do you any good to learn to fight like me. Not only will it take months to prepare you for it – and we don't have months to deal with Steel Wings – but Steel Wings will probably be harder to take down than any of the other evil critters I had to take out. Including the behemoth that Rasputin unleashed before he died." He looked away. "Besides, I promised Father that I wasn't going to let you on the battlefield. No matter what Kendra sees in her visions."

Something in his brown trench coat wriggled and Brynn looked down at it. A furry head popped out of one of the pockets and two luminous eyes looked up at her. Brynn felt her heart melt and her eyes took on a happy light.

"Oh yeah, here's your cat," Hellboy said, pulling the furry white cat out of his coat. "Be nice to Snowball and she'll be nice to you."

Brynn took the sleek cat and cradled it in her arms. "HB?"

Hellboy drew his shoulders back like he was preparing for her to go off on him. Brynn petted the cat and looked up at its former master, slightly amused with his reaction.

"You know you're going to need Nuada's help to defeat Julius. He's the only one who knows how to kill an angel."

Hellboy shrugged and put a cigar in his mouth. "I'll think about it, Tweety, but we have a bad past between us. He may want to be the credit hog."

"Hey, you'll always be a hero in my books and you'll be the bigger person if you fight alongside him."

"I'm already the bigger person. He's alive, ain't he?"

Brynn didn't feel like reminding him that the only reason Nuada was alive was because he wanted Abe to be happy with Nuala. Hellboy wouldn't intentionally cause his friend heartache. She hugged the cat and looked away from him, thinking. Hellboy tipped her chin up with his normal hand.

"Brynn, promise me again that you won't leave the compound. Swear it on all that is holy," he instructed. "If something happened to you, I…" He shook his head. "Who would I tease all the time and attack every time I got the chance?"

"HB…I swear on all that is holy that I'm not going to leave the compound because you'd miss me if something bad happened to me."

Hellboy rolled his eyes. "You think way too much about yourself. You _Mary Sue_."

Brynn lightly smacked him on the arm. "Don't call me that! I think I prefer _Tweety Bird_."

"Okay Tweety Bird," Hellboy said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and started escorting her down the hall.

"Can you tell me something?"

"As long as it's not 'I love you', yeah."

"How long was I out of it?"

"Two days. Being evil for a few hours really drained you, didn't it?"

"I'm still exhausted." She glanced at him. "What did you do with the dahlia?"

"Liz burned it to Hell like we should have had her do a long time ago. It's why we think Steel Wings is not acting up right now. He lost part of his heart with that dahlia. And Liz didn't just do it out of the good of her heart – she did it because she didn't want the spotlight on you anymore. You're always in the spotlight, Tweety. Maybe I should worry about _you _being the credit hog."

Brynn brushed the comment off. "I…Will you tell Liz I sorry? I called her a really bad name and…"

"You feel guilty?"

Brynn nodded.

"Well, don't. Everyone knows you weren't in your right mind when you were babbling in Latin. So why worry?"

"I just…will you please just tell her I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Hellboy escorted her into the cafeteria. "Now go eat something. I've got to go hunting for a death angel."

Without a second look at Brynn, Hellboy detached himself from her and walked away. Brynn felt dozens of eyes on her and hugged her new pet closer to her chest.

_This is going to be a long day…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn was wandering the hall when she heard someone approaching. She recognized the overbearing concern radiating from the person and her stomach clenched painfully. She drew her wings around herself, blocking him from view.

"You can't ignore me," Meyers' voice said, sounding a little hurt.

"Watch me," Brynn muttered bitterly. "Don't think for a second that I've forgiven you for the kissing part. It's too soon for forgiveness for you."

"I understand that. I just…I don't know what came over me. It happened and it felt…"

"Let me guess. It felt _good_."

Meyers nodded. Brynn smacked him with one of her wings.

"Don't think it'll happen again. I only want to kiss one man and it's not you."

"Brynn, I don't understand how you could spend all this time with me and fall in love with a man you've only known for a week."

"It's called _true love_," Bryn snapped, glaring at him. "You and I weren't meant to be, Meyers. I only saw you as a friend and that's all you'd ever be. At least, that's what I thought. Now I'm not sure I even want to consider you a friend."

"Brynn, I'm sorry. How many times do I have to apologize for caring about you before you forgive me?"

"You can stop now because you'll never really mean it." Brynn's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'm a giver of second chances, but you blew your second chance. You don't get a third chance." She looked down at the cat in her arms. "You can only hope that Nuada will give you a second chance after all of this is cleared up. Maybe he'll be nicer to you than you think he will be." She smirked slightly. "Or Hellboy could get you transferred to the North Pole again, to keep Nuada from killing you."

"How…thoughtful of you," Meyers managed to say in a tight voice. "Will I ever be redeemed in your eyes?"

"Probably not."

Meyers sighed and Brynn heard her ringtone go off. Her eyes turned to Meyers as he pulled her cell phone out of his coat.

"Where did you find that?" she demanded.

"You left it at your house," Meyers explained, holding it out to her. "Do you recognize the number?"

Brynn nodded. "It's Mom's." She accepted the call. "Mom? Are you okay?"

"Brynn darling, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" Daria's voice crooned over the phone. "You've been missing for three days, where are you?"

The hair on the back of Brynn's neck stood on end and her stomach twisted into knots at the sound of the voice. Something wasn't right.

"Brynn dear? Are you still there? I'm worried about you."

"My mother wouldn't keep calling me 'dear' or 'darling'," Brynn hissed. "And she wouldn't ask me where I am. Julius, I know it's you."

"So clever of you," Julius' voice said, sending chills down Brynn's spine. "Now, where are you?"

"Go to Hell." Brynn hung up on him and threw her phone on the ground, breaking it. "Damn that bastard to Hell."

"Hopefully Hellboy will send him there soon," Meyers muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "For all of our sakes."

Brynn glowered at him and stormed away, leaving him far behind her. She knew it was better to walk away when something bothered her than to stay because she was in a killing mood.

Kendra appeared around a corner and pulled Brynn aside. Brynn opened her mouth to protest but the Oracle put a finger to her lips. Brynn saw how bright Kendra's eyes were glowing and forced back her complaint.

"Hellboy's not going to kill Julius," Kendra whispered, staring off into space. "Nuada will join forces with him, but neither man will be able to land a fatal blow. They don't have the weapon necessary to kill him."

"Where is this weapon?" Brynn asked quietly. "Can someone get it to them?"

"The weapon has two parts," Kendra told her. "One part is an object; the other part is a person."

Brynn felt herself grow colder, dread forming in the pit of her stomach. "Where is the object?"

"At a store in the Troll Market…"

Brynn gulped. "And who is the person we're looking for?"

"We're not looking for them. They're already found."

"Who?"

Kendra smiled slightly. "You."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: I think it's about time someone killed Julius. But what about her promise to Nuada and Hellboy? What can be done? Stayed tuned for more info. ~ Scarlet**


	17. Chapter 17

Kendra's eyes were normal now, pure white and all knowing. Brynn felt sick to her stomach again as Kendra took the cat away from her. Her hands were shaking and she knew her color had fled her.

"Me? No Kendra, you've got it wrong!" Brynn cried, trembling. "I can't…I can't fight at all! I couldn't fight him when he first took me! How do you expect me to kill him?"

"I expect you to_ help _kill him. You've got more skills than you think you do. Besides, Julius is considerably weaker than he was when he first came here. And he's enraged, which is a fatal combination…for him." Kendra blinked, turning her head slightly. "You should go to the Troll Market soon, before Hellboy and Nuada go to battle with him."

"I…I promised that -"

"Don't be a good little girl, Brynn. Be a rebel. Those promises you made to Nuada and Hellboy can be broken without lasting consequences. They'll understand when Julius is dead."

Brynn shook her head. "There has to be another way!"

"There is no other way. Unless you want the best ally we have against an apocalypse to die, then you'll get your scrawny ass to the Troll Market and inquire about a weapons store. You'll find the patrons of the Market more willing to help you than before."

"Why me?"

"Because it's your destiny…"

Brynn sighed and drew her wings around herself. "Fine. I'll go, but I'm not fighting anyone." She concentrated on the deserted part of town that the Troll Market was located and vanished.

Kendra's eyes took on a sad light and she frowned. "It's your destiny…to die."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Brynn breathed in the smog of the city as she appeared outside the dilapidated slaughterhouse. She glanced up and around her, checking to make sure that Julius was not around.

No one was there.

_Get in, get the weapon, and get out…_Brynn told herself, marching into the building.

She forced aside the metal wall, blocking the ancient door. The lock waited patiently for her to try it. Brynn wracked through her memory for the combination. She found she couldn't remember it, but she found the answer in the memories she shared with Nuada.

With shaky hands, she maneuvered the pieces into the order that they were supposed to be in and stepped back. The door rumbled as it opened and let her into the magical world of the Unseen Realm.

Again, people hardly paid attention to her, but some of them drew away from her. She put a hand over her necklace and looked for the tumor-baby that had helped her before. Spotting it with its host body, she rushed across the space between them and saw that it smiled at the sight of her.

"Hello, your highness," it said, bowing its head slightly. "I thought you would never, never come back here after your wings were plucked. Stupid, little cardins thought they could sell your pretty feathers to the highest bidder…but someone took care of them first." He laughed a sweet little laugh.

"I know." Brynn winced at the memory. "Could you tell me where I can find a weapon that could kill an angel?"

The large luminous eyes of the tumor-baby stared back at her, but he remained silent. The host body looked a little scared at what she had just asked.

"Why do you want to know how to kill an angel?" the tumor-baby asked after a moment. "Are you thinking about killing yourself?"

"No, I'm thinking about killing the angel of death I set free on this planet," Brynn explained. "He's going to try to kill all of the humans."

"Oh."

"It's bad luck to kill an angel," the host body croaked. "And damn near impossible. You should just let him kill the humans and save yourself the trouble."

"I can't. I need to clean up my own mess, atone for my mistakes." Brynn shook her head and looked around. "My father needs to be killed before he kills someone…Please, just tell me where I can find a weapon's store."

The tumor-baby looked at her and sighed. "There's a weapons store in the back alley, but you mustn't tell anyone that we told you that. It's bad luck and he's a chicken," he added, gesturing at the host. "Give her the cloak."

The host reached around Brynn and put a cloak around her shoulders, lifting the hood over her head. Brynn didn't question the need to be covered because she felt safer with the cloak on. She bowed her head to the tumor-baby and the host before hurrying through the crowd towards the stairs in the back of the market.

On her way, she thought she caught a glimpse of Nuada and tried to block him from her mind. She didn't need to get caught at that moment, when she was so close to getting the means to kill her father. Even if she knew she'd feel a lot safer with Nuada holding her in his arms.

Brynn hurried up the steps and turned down the alley. She walked past the herb shop and looked around for any sign of the weapons shop. She drew in a breath when she heard someone coming down the alley after her and stole into a shop without looking, thinking only of hiding. She locked the door and switched the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed'.

"Can I help you?" someone asked and Brynn turned around slowly.

She saw the weapons gleaming on the walls. All of them were dangerous looking and all called out for blood to be spilt. Uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach, but she forced herself to shake off the feeling. It would do her no good now.

"Yes…could you please show me a weapon that can kill an angel?" Brynn requested, looking at the creature that owned the shop. A fire nymph, she realized.

The nymph drew back as if burned. "Why? There is only one angel on Earth now. A Halfling and she is the mate of Prince Nuada. You can't possibly think of killing her…to do so would condemn you to death as well…"

"I do not plan on killing her," Brynn said, opening her cloak slightly so he got a clear view of her wings and necklace. "I am her."

The nymph quickly bowed. "Your highness, I'm sorry that I did not recognize you. A thousand apologies…"

Brynn let her cloak fall back into position, her wings rustling under the confines of the coarse cloth. "You're forgiven," she told the nymph. "But I must hurry. I need a weapon that can kill an angel because my father has been summoned to Earth and he's going to start a bloody war between the worlds that I am part of. The human world and your world."

A line appeared on the nymph's brow. "Another war between the Unseen Realm and the humans? Have we not learned from our past?" He shook himself. "What kind of angel is he? A seraph? A lesser angel?"

"An angel of death."

"Ah…I've got just the thing. A moment of your patience, your highness." The nymph shuffled to the back of the shop, vanishing behind a curtain.

Brynn walked around the store in the dark, eyeing the weapons. _If Hellboy was here, he'd be going crazy over all these shiny 'toys'. _

The thought of Hellboy made her heart clench painfully. She had lied to him, broken a promise on all that was holy. If – when – he found out what she was doing, he would confine her to the Bureau with a chain around her ankle for years.

_HB forgive me…Kendra said that without me, no one is going to kill Julius. You're just going to have to accept that…_

She heard someone test the doorknob of the front door and drew farther into the shadows. She kept her face turned away from the door, not wanting to see who was there. Brynn tried to make herself as small as possible, hidden away from the searching eyes.

Whoever it was wandered away rather quickly. Brynn straightened and looked up just as the nymph came from behind a curtain, carrying a black box with strange carvings on it.

"Your highness," he began, presenting her with the box. "This will do away with your father and cast him to Hell after his judgment in the presence of your God."

Brynn took the box cautiously and opened it. Her eyes examined the contents for a moment, formulating a plan to use it at the same time.

"This will kill him," she whispered, pulling the object out of the box and hiding it in her cloak. "But how will I pay you back for this? I don't have -"

The nymph held up a hand, silencing her as he took back the box. "There will be no need for payment. I am happy to serve the mate of Prince Nuada as long as you can kill the angelic bastard who wants to start another war. It cannot be allowed to happen, your highness. Kill him and that will be payment enough."

Brynn nodded and turned away from him. "Thank you."

She exited the shop and started back down the alley, her hands moving about underneath her cloak. Brynn did not hear the faint sound of footsteps behind her until they were right upon her.

"You lied to me," Nuada's voice said from behind her.

Brynn froze as a hand descended upon her shoulder. "Nuada, I can explain."

Nuada pulled her hood back, exposing the angel's face to him as he stood in front of her. Brynn saw subdued anger in his eyes as they burned into her soul. "Explain it then, little angel."

"Kendra had another vision," Brynn told him calmly, feeling uncomfortable under his burning gaze. "She told me that you and Hellboy won't be able to kill Julius without my help."

"Lies," Nuada spat, noticing how Brynn looked alarmed. "That Oracle has been wrong before. Do you deny it?"

Brynn thought back to those warnings of hurricanes and natural disasters that Kendra had spoken about that had never happened. But something in her soul told her that Kendra wasn't lying this time. That Kendra had never been surer of her vision.

"Little angel, you have fallen for the lies of an Oracle who has been trained to give people predictions of what they want to hear. She is no better than the common human psychic." He looked a little sad. "How could you so easily fall for her lies?"

"I don't think she's lying," Brynn muttered, playing with her hands under her cloak. "She wouldn't lie to me. She wouldn't put my life in danger for no reason. Or our child's." She looked at him imploringly. "You must know that deep down?"

Nuada's face was unreadable. "You're putting yourself and our child in danger by leaving the protection of the underground compound." He held a hand out to her and drew it back. "And you're tainted with the evil of his black heart…I assume this happened when Hellboy threw the dahlia at you."

Brynn nodded. Her body grew cold as she felt a powerful source of anger enter the Troll Market. It made her knees grow weak and she fell into Nuada's arms, where she had wanted to be when she had left the Bureau, but she didn't feel safe in his arms. She felt scared and knew that if she didn't put distance between him and her, that he was going to meet a bloody end.

_Concentrate…you know what to do,_ Brynn told herself, pushing herself out of Nuada's arms. _You know what must be done…_

She walked away from Nuada, back up the alley towards the stairs. Nuada followed closely behind, pulling his spear from behind his back. Brynn knew that the weapon that Nuada possessed would do little more than aggravate the death angel, unless the tip was forced deep into his heart and broken off.

Brynn paused at the top of the stairs, looking down into the midst of the patrons of the Troll Market. Her eyes landed on her father as he moved around the Troll Market. He lifted his eyes to her and Brynn saw death in his eyes, but she wasn't afraid. There was no time to be an afraid little girl, depending on others to fight her battles.

"Brynn McKae," Julius boomed and immediately the area fell silent as all took notice of the two angels and their prince. "Daughter, have you changed your mind?"

"I'm afraid not, Julius," Brynn said, holding her head higher than she felt. "I am still against you when it comes to the destruction of the human race and nothing you do will change that."

"Oh really?" Julius' eyes landed on Nuada as the elf moved to stand slightly in front of Brynn. "What do you say Silverlance, hater of humans? Do you share the same viewpoint as your mate?"

Brynn looked at Nuada, holding her breath. She didn't know what he was thinking, but his eyes were cold as they gazed up the angel of death. She hoped that he would make the right choice.

"Angel of death," Nuada began in his cool voice. "I have held onto the hate of all humans for over two thousand years and have fought against them in many battles, one war. I have been the hand of death when the angels fled to the heavens, the death of all the humans." He smirked. "However, you have created a Halfling with a human and she is my soul mate. She has shown me many things, has shown me love and warmed my cold heart. She is half of what I despise and all that I will protect. There will be a war, great warrior, but it shall not be between the humans and I."

"So, you of eloquent tongue and past bravery and honor will rise against me as well as my daughter…" Julius sighed and tipped his head to the side like he was listening to something. "It is a shame, the three of us could have brought forth a new era of peace and honor amongst the greater beings of this planet…"

"We shall have peace without your war," Brynn said, dropping her cloak so that she stood only in the white dress that he had given her. The billowy sleeves moved gently in the foul air of the Troll Market, concealing her hands. "Long after you have gone to Hell."

"It shall not be I that goes to Hell, Brynn," Julius said, unfurling his wings and beating them hard.

Brynn moved in front of Nuada and beat her own wings, barely canceling out the force that he had sent her way. "Nuada, run!" she hissed at him, turning her head slightly. "Run and don't look back!"

Nuada held his ground. "I will not leave you."

Brynn beat her wings repeatedly in a vain attempt to keep Julius back. "I will see you in the park then."

She turned and beat her wings, knocking him back down the alley. In the next second she was wrapping her wings around herself and concentrating on the image of the park. The place she should have died…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: I'm thinking about doing a sequel when I'm done with this story. A Nuada perspective story…of course, something bad will happen before then and you guys won't be happy, so I'll take your kind reviews while they last. ~smiles~ I thank you for your time spent to read and review and hope that you stick around for the finale in two chapters. ~ Scarlet**


	18. Chapter 18

Brynn stood in the middle of the park's field, waiting for Hell to come to Earth. She could feel anger surrounding her in the night. It should have chilled her to the bone, but she was numb against it. Part of her knew that Kendra had called Hellboy and alerted him of the situation. He'd be furious when he found her and Brynn expected several broken bones and a concussion in retaliation. If she were alive at the end of all of this.

_Why did Kendra look so sad when she said that it was my destiny to be here? Did she see something about death? Who is going to die? _Brynn frowned and hugged herself. _Please don't let it be Nuada because Abe loves Nuala, I haven't seen him this happy before and I know she's good for him. And please don't let Hellboy fall victim to my father's wrath. Liz would never be the same without the big red ape. The world would be poorer for it if these people died…_

_But what about me? I'm a pregnant half-breed who has never fought someone who was trying to kill me before…Will the world really miss one angel half-breed when there are thousands of real angels waiting for them up in Heaven? The world doesn't seem like it would be poorer without my presence…_

Brynn found it odd that she was ready to fail for someone else's success. She would trade her life for the lives that could be saved by two of the greatest men in her life. It didn't matter what happened to her as long as they survived to prevent apocalypse after apocalypse.

_But what about my child? _Brynn thought, placing a hand on her stomach. _Will its life be cut so short because of the actions of its mother? Will Nuada ever find another to have a child with or will he go mad? Will he end his life in hopes of joining me? Or will he spend eternity, hoping that I will be reincarnated and join him once more? _

"Nuada…" she breathed, closing her eyes against a wave of tears.

A loud bang came from the east and Brynn's eyes snapped open. She saw fire in the direction of the parking lot and distant shapes of two clashing people. Brynn took flight, ignoring her fear of heights and soared over to the parking lot in time to see Hellboy get thrown into the side of his truck. Humans were shooting at Julius, their bullets hitting him in the chest with little damage as a result. She landed on top of the truck and looked down at Hellboy, taking her eyes away from the fire and her father.

"Are you okay HB?" she asked, her wings rustling.

"You…shouldn't be here Tweety," Hellboy stated, shaking off the blow as he climbed to his feet. "You'll just get in the way…"

Brynn knew that may be true, but she wasn't about to leave. She had the weapon that would send her father to Hell and something told her that she was the only one that would be able to use it. The same thing told her that she needed to help Hellboy gain the upper hand. Without thinking, she pulled her hand back and forced it forward again.

Lightning split the sky in two and streaked into her hand. Brynn felt comforted by the lightning and felt its strength renew her. With a calm face, she threw the lightning at her father and watched his wings catch fire. Hellboy looked back at her with surprise on his face.

"Did you just do that?" he asked and when she nodded, he shook his head. "No…It can't be…can it? No…freaking way."

Brynn pulled her hand back, holding onto fresh lightning. Julius spun away from the humans shooting at him and sent a death glare her way. Brynn drew herself up to her full height, listening to the lightning crackling in the palm of her hand.

_He has lightning in his fists…a cry that can make ears bleed and probably shatter glass…super speed…_Brynn counted off in her head as Hellboy fired two blessed bullets into Julius' person. _But I have those abilities as well…_

Julius jerked back with each bullet that connected with his body, embedding themselves deep into his flesh. His blood ran gold down his chest and he made no attempt to heal them. He summoned lightning to his hand, thunder shaking everything with its reverberating intensity. The fallen angel of death threw the lightning at the human oppositions, setting them on fire and electrocuting them at the same time.

Brynn turned her eyes away from the scene, fighting to keep her stomach contents down. The smell of burnt flesh was acrid and made her stomach weak, but she kept her nerve. Her eyes turned back to Julius' bullet ridden body as he slowly approached Hellboy.

_He can't kill Hellboy with lightning because Hellboy is fire resistant. He'll have to kill him some other way, but I won't let it happen…Hopefully Nuada will get here in time to help._

Brynn was certain that Nuada had managed to escape Julius' wrath unscathed. There was no doubt in her mind that she would see him again and that he would help send Julius to his Maker. And she had no doubt that if they made it out of this alive that he would let Hellboy lock her away from the world forever. He'd be furious with her for leaving him behind like that, to worry about her safety with the fallen angel of death.

_Nuada will just have to forgive me…_Brynn decided, throwing more lightning at her father.

Julius shook off the lightning with a pained expression on his face. The pain turned into annoyance as he beat his wings, knocking Hellboy back several yards.

"Aw…" Hellboy taunted, shooting another bullet into Julius' body as he approached him once more. "Are you growing weaker, Steel Wings? Is it because your daughter is throwing your flashy bands of electricity back at you? Or could it be that you're bleeding out your angelic blood?" He smirked. "My bad."

Julius looked absolutely livid. "Silence demon! I shall send you to Hell soon enough."

Brynn saw him opening his mouth, sucking an unnatural amount of air into his lungs and knew what that meant. "Hellboy cover your ears!" she cried out.

Hellboy's hands flew over his ears as the most terrible cry came forth from Julius' lips. Brynn felt her eardrums begin to tear as she listened to the sound that could have only come from Hell. It sent shivers down her spine and made fear grow inside her.

Covering his ears left Hellboy exposed to Julius and even then, Brynn knew that he would be deafened for a few moments. She flew down, landing in front of Hellboy and beat her wings as hard as she could, throwing swirling lightning at him at the same time. Julius jerked back for a moment and then was gone. Brynn didn't have time to look around before he appeared in front of her and had her by the throat.

"You will be disciplined," he hissed in her ear before throwing her into the side of the truck.

Brynn cried out in pain as one of her wings folded against the truck, breaking one of its fragile bones. Julius laughed for a moment before Hellboy punched him in the stomach and fired a bullet into his throat. Julius staggered backwards, clutching his throat. A second later, an arrow was sticking out of his chest.

Brynn lifted her eyes away from her broken wing to find Nuada standing by Hellboy, another arrow drawn, ready to shoot. The two men glanced at each other out of the corner of their eye.

"You shouldn't be here, Prince Dark," Hellboy commented, loading some more blessed bullets into Big Baby. "If you die, one of my best friends is going to be upset." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Brynn. "And she'll never let me live it down."

"Then I suggest that neither of us die," Nuada replied coolly. "I am here to protect my mate and our future child." His eyes narrowed as he fired another arrow into Julius' chest. "This, my once enemy, is merely payback."

"Oh…" Hellboy smirked and fired another round into Julius' chest, releasing even more golden blood onto the ground. "Well, after this…what do you say we have a rematch? To see who the better warrior is once and for all…unless you're chicken…"

"We shall see…" Nuada said, firing the remaining arrows at once. Only two missed because Julius used his speed to avoid them. "Damn it."

"Oh! So you do curse," Hellboy beamed, firing another couple of rounds. "I didn't think you had it in you, Silverlance." He looked bummed when none of the bullets impacted Julius. "You know, it might be a good idea to take your mate and run. This could turn ugly."

"I'm fighting to the end," Nuada told him, tossing his bow aside and withdrawing his spear. "But you may run if you want to…"

"Nah. I can't let you be the credit hog."

Brynn watched as both men charged at Julius, a frown on her lips as she pushed herself to her feet. Her wing was bent at an odd angle, but she was more concerned about the battle before her. Two of the most powerful men in her life were fighting to save the world, to protect her. And she was afraid for them. She knew that none of their weapons would land the final blow that would end the battle forever, the weapon that could was in her possession.

She watched helplessly as Julius quickly recovered ground over the two men. He dodged their attacks and threw them about with his wings, knocking them down with punches. Before Brynn realized what had happened, Hellboy was on the ground, barely conscious and Nuada was not in better condition, bleeding profusely from a head wound. Julius saw her watching and started to make his way over to her.

Nuada rose with difficulty and started to follow him, to pull him back, but Julius simply twitched a wing and sent Nuada flying. Brynn pushed herself away from the truck and lowered her wings. She did not see what good could come from flapping her one good wing. The hurricane force would do little to stop him from approaching.

"Your heroes lay on the ground," Julius commented, stopping thirteen feet away from her. "Bleeding without honor. You, have fought like a good little warrior. A poorly trained angel, but still you managed to wound me." He touched his chest where golden blood trickled from steaming wounds. "Holy bullets…I wonder what gave them the idea. Still, it has weakened me."

"You've grown weak because you have fallen from God's favor," Brynn hissed, wrapping an arm around her stomach protectively. "He has turned His back on you."

Julius' eyes narrowed and he threw lightning at her. This was not the same as the lightning she had possessed. It scorched her, sending burning pain through her limbs. She cried out and stumbled forward onto one knee, unable to control her body for a moment.

"You are left with two choices Brynn Leandra McKae, daughter of the Devil's favorite angel," Julius said, rising off the ground. "You can die with your lover and the valiant hero of God or you can fly up here and join my cause. So, do you choose to meet your Maker or do you choose to lead the war against the humans?"

Brynn looked away from him, her eyes turning to Nuada. He had pushed himself onto his elbows, looking at her and her father with sad eyes. His eyes locked on hers and she saw the will to fight on till the end, the drive to protect her, and the love that he had rarely expressed to her. She remembered with a sudden calm, his final words when he had battled Hellboy before his first death. "_We die and the world will be poorer for it…"_

Brynn straightened, despite her nerves being on fire. _I'm sorry Nuada, but this must be done… The world will be poorer without you and Hellboy, but without me…my sacrifice offers bountiful riches and blessings…_

Nuada's eyes widened as the thoughts crossed the distance between them. "No…" he breathed, struggling to get up.

Brynn looked up at her father, flying so high above her and forced her wings to lower and propel herself up from the ground. Pain like she never felt before coursed through her and she nearly fell from the skies. With gritted teeth, she managed to fly up to Julius' level and hovered there.

"Have you chosen?" he asked, his eyes completely black now instead of blue.

Brynn nodded. "I have chosen to join your side and take down the humans." She bowed her head slightly. "I hope that my actions in the near future will atone for what I have done since you have arrived on Earth…"

Julius smiled and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "My daughter, we will rule this world together! There will be nothing to stop us…"

Brynn nodded and turned her face away from him, shaking her hand free of the sleeve. "But there is one problem with that plan, Father."

"There is no problem," Julius boomed, glancing down below them at the stunned heroes below. "Not even your beloved heroes will be able to stop the hand of death!"

"Then I can," Brynn whispered, her fist colliding with his chest, breaking the skin.

Julius jerked back slightly as the weapon around Brynn's wrist broke free of its restraint and buried itself deeper into his chest, aiming for his heart. He threw Brynn away from him and clawed with one hand at his chest, but the holy weapon was burning him from within. With a look of pure hatred, Julius summoned lightning to his hand once more.

"If I die, you die as well daughter!" he spat, throwing the lightning at her.

Brynn closed her eyes as the lightning collided with her, envisioning her friends and her family. The pain was not as bad as she expected, but she knew that was because most of her nerves had already been fried. She felt herself falling, the world racing towards her as Julius' death cries pierced the silence.

_Nuada…I love you_…

Then the ground raced up to meet her and Brynn knew nothing more…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: So there's only one chapter left after this (unless I do an epilogue) and Julius has already been killed. One death remains to be written and it will be brought to conclusion in the upcoming week. Stay tuned for more details and don't forget to review! ****! ~ Scarlet**

_Hehhhhhhhhhhhhh_


	19. Chapter 19

The Bureau complex was silent. All that could be heard was the squeaking of shoes on the polished floors and the silent tears of a mother who had lost everything she had held dear.

Hellboy looked across the room at Daria, the woman he had thought was the strongest person in the world, to find tears running in rivers down her face. Abe and Nuala sat on either side of her, their hands connected with hers, offering silent comfort to the woman. Hellboy thought that maybe there was memories shared between them that they were broadcasting to her, to help her find peace. He wished there was something he could do to end her sadness, but he couldn't think of anything. So he lifted a can of beer to his mouth, only to lower it once more without taking even a sip. He knew he couldn't stomach a beer.

"This is my fault," he muttered, pushing the beer aside. "I shouldn't have let her stick around…I should have made her run away… or teleport or whatever it was that she did…"

"Don't blame yourself," Abe said, but Hellboy had a feeling that Abe blamed him for part of Brynn's end. "She made her own decision…you respected that."

"I didn't…I just couldn't get to her fast enough…" The corner of his lips turned up slightly. "I guess you know how to pick them Daria…he kicked my ass around the place before…" He trailed off and the attempt of a smile fell. "She went out fighting…"

"It was an end that the Professor would have both frowned upon and been proud of," Kendra's voice floated into the room. Eyes turned to her. "Uh…hi…" She winced. "I feel the blame is now being put on me…"

"You were the one who told her to go after me," Hellboy reminded her. "You told her that I couldn't handle Steel Wings on my own!

"Well you couldn't…" Kendra shot back weakly.

"I could have lasted until Nuada showed up!" Hellboy exclaimed, wondering why he was picking a fight with the Oracle. "We could have taken him down!"

"It wasn't fated that you would win without her intervention!" Kendra cried. "The stars -"

"The stars are silent, false prophets," Nuala whispered, her eyes full of sadness. "What is written there is not set in stone…destiny can be changed, Oracle."

Kendra's face fell, a battle lost before it began. "I did not want to condemn her to death…I did not mean to…but I had to stop you from dying Hellboy…you will be needed in the near future."

"And Brynn wouldn't?" Hellboy snapped, rising from his seat. "That girl saved my life, but what's the point if I could be killed when the next apocalypse comes knocking?" His rock hand clenched into a fist. "I was supposed to protect her! Father told me to protect her from outside forces, but maybe I was supposed to protect her from you and your false prophecies!"

"Do you think this is easy for me?" Kendra demanded, shaking with emotion. "Do you think I can easily sentence my friends to death without feeling like shit afterwards? Brynn was been around me for all of her nineteen years. She confided in me things she thought she'd never be able to confide in you. We developed a bond, a friendship stronger than any I have had with any other. And now it's gone Hellboy! It's gone because of me!" Crystalline tears fell from her eyes, staining her cheeks in rivers of water. "She's gone because of me! And I have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life!" She crumpled and fell on the floor, her eyes lowered to the ground. "Brynn…I'm so sorry! Why didn't you ignore me like you usually do? Brynn, I'm sorry…I'm sorry that I condemned you to death!"

Daria looked down at the Oracle and rose from her seat. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the woman, tears still falling in torrents from her own eyes. "I don't blame you, Kendra…" she whispered through her pain.

Hellboy felt sick to his stomach as he watched the two women grieve. This was his and Kendra's fault, he was sure of it. He should have done something to make Brynn leave the area and Kendra should have kept her mouth shut.

"She's not…dead yet…" Nuala whispered, looking at Hellboy.

"But she's not alive either," Hellboy muttered, picking up his beer and chugging it down. "This…is my fault…" And for the first time since his father died, he broke down in tears.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Brynn stood in the middle of a meadow, unsure of where she was. She recognized this place from Nuada's memory – it was part of the world that came before the humans started to take over the forests, but she did not know why she was there._

"_You must have dozens of questions," someone commented and Brynn recognized the voice from Nuada's memories. "I will answer them if you have the time for it."_

"_All I have is time, your highness," Brynn said, bowing her head as she turned to face Nuada's father. "Because I'm…I'm…"_

"_Dead?" King Balor supplied the word for her with a soft smile. She nodded and he laughed lightly. "No, I'm afraid you're not quite dead yet. You're still holding on. My son is holding onto you as we speak."_

_Brynn felt a flash of warmth come over her. "Where are we?"_

"_Don't you know?"_

"_I thought when people died they were supposed to be judged by God and then welcomed to Heaven or sent to Hell…" Brynn gestured around them. "This doesn't look like the pearly gates of Heaven or a place for lounging about on the clouds."_

_Balor seemed amused. "You would like to see all the angels, wouldn't you?"His smile widened when she nodded again. "Oh, you're in Heaven… just a little away from the pearly gates. Your God sent me to speak with you since you're still not fully dead."_

"_Why you?"_

"_Because I'm the father of the soul mate God placed in your path. And I must say, I'm proud to meet you. You're everything that my son needs and more…" He held his hand out. "I must say it was awfully brave of you to sacrifice your life for my son and Hellboy. A wise choice."_

"_How was it wise?"Personally she thought it was the stupidest thing she had ever done._

"_If you had let Hellboy and my son continue to fight, the next apocalypse would have been fulfilled." He gestured back towards an area that burned with a bright light that hurt Brynn's eyes. "Your God was not ready to have His people meet Him. They have not learned all of the lessons He wants them to learn. Tell me, Brynn McKae; is there still war on Earth?"_

"_I'm afraid so."She shrugged. "Not much has changed in the three months that have passed since your death, King Balor."_

_Balor lifted a finger. "But my son has."  
Brynn shrugged and looked away, placing a hand on her stomach. Her thoughts were elsewhere and Balor seemed to sense it._

"_You have created life with my son, something I could have only hoped for with him in exile. He was not one who wanted to be tied down with someone in his quest for the eradication of all humans and I knew he would kill his soul mate given the chance…_

"_But when you were created and born and nineteen years later, everything for my son changed. He felt a need to protect you, a little angel Halfling. He felt his heart melt and made decisions to help those around you, to help you. He learned to care for humans through you and your mother's actions. For once in his long life, he cared for something other than his crusade against humanity. He loves you."_

_Brynn felt her heart glow. "I know…even though he's never said those three words I'd love to hear, I know he loves me…"_

"_Actions speak louder than words…"_

_Brynn nodded and looked around her once more, sensing someone else's presence. She turned when she felt a little hand pull on the skirt of her dress. A look of awe spread across her face as she looked down at the child. Her child._

_There was no mistaking the silver-blonde hair, the fair skin, and the gray-blue eyes of the little girl. Little white wings sprouted from her back and a flush of pink colored her cheeks. She smiled happily up at Brynn with all knowing eyes way beyond her years. _

"_Mommy," the girl said sweetly. "Mommy, I've been waiting to meet you for the longest time. I'm Noemi and I'm so proud of you, Mommy. You saved Daddy and you came to meet me."_

_Brynn's eyes grew wet as she crouched down and touched her unborn daughter's face with a hesitant hand. "I…I lost you…when I died…You never had a chance to see the world…or your father."_

_Noemi took hold of Brynn's hand and squeezed her fingers happily. "Mommy, I saw the world. I've watched over the world with God, waiting for you to meet Daddy." She frowned slightly. "Daddy was lost without you, but he found you and everything got better." Her smile returned. "You're not dead yet Mommy. And neither am I. Not yet. Daddy's still holding onto you…"_

"_But..."Brynn looked away from her daughter and instead looked at King Balor. "I don't understand…How…Why?"_

"_You needed to meet your daughter," Balor stated quietly. "The first of your children…but she could be your last…"_

"_Mommy, I have so many brothers and sisters, but God wouldn't let all of them come to see you." Noemi looked up at her with her beautiful gray-blue eyes. "He wanted you to let you have a choice Mommy."_

"_A choice?" Brynn paled, remembering the last time she had made a choice. _

_Noemi smiled knowingly. "Mommy, it's not that kind of choice. God wouldn't make you choose from two horrible options…He's a kind God."_

"_I know Noemi," Brynn whispered, looking down at her daughter for a moment longer. Then her eyes turned back to King Balor. "What are my choices?"_

_King Balor smiled. "God has left you with two choices, Brynn McKae. The first choice is that you die on Earth, but come to life in Heaven with Noemi and God, to wait for Nuada to join you. Or you can go back to your old life and spend the rest of time with Nuada and have many beautiful children...The choice is yours and you only get to make it once…"_

_Brynn looked down at Noemi again and saw the hope and love shining in her eyes. "What do you think I should choose?"_

"_I think you should choose the one that makes you the happiest, Mommy." She laughed and eyes sparkled with happiness. "I get to spend time with you either way."_

_Brynn looked out at the pearly gates in the distance and knew what her choice should be…_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nuada held Brynn's hand as she lay on the hospital bed, hooked to so many life sustaining machines. Her chest rose and fell with each shallow breath she took and the burnt skin on her chest pulled tight, nearly ripping in some areas, with each breath.

Her hands were an angry red in color with some black discoloration, but her face was a mess of black and red. The back of her head was wrapped in bandages, stained with blood. Nuada didn't want to look at her face, but he found that he could look nowhere else. As it had always done, it captivated him.

"My little angel," he whispered, hoping that she could hear him. "You were the one I despised and cherished more than anything in this entire world. How could one nineteen year old girl make a man like me, weak with desire and love without uttering a word?" He smiled slightly in spite of himself. "Somehow you managed to hold my heart captive, but so easily you released it from the gilded cage you put it in, letting me know that I was free to leave your presence at any moment of my choosing. It was so thoughtful of you…like always…

"But I was not satisfied with just one moment with you, a connection shared briefly. I wanted all of you and for a time, I had it all." His eyes gleamed with sadness. "Oh my little angel, you should have followed my orders…Even if it was against your nature to obey orders, you should have heeded my words, not that of the false Oracle…It would have kept you with me for years, centuries…All periods of time that once passed so quickly, but will now drag on with each painful second without you by my side…"

The machine monitoring her heartbeat beeped a sad beep. Nuada shook his head and clasped her burnt hand, feeling her pain dully echoing in his person. As long as he felt her pain and heard the whispers of her thoughts, he knew she was still with him. That God had not snatched away the person that made life worth living for him.

"Little angel who holds my heart…" He trailed off, unsure of how to say the words that would express everything without an eloquent tongue. "You can't leave me here in this cruel world, not after everything we have shared…the moments I've spent with you should not become just memories of a love past…They should only be the beginning because…" He swallowed and stared, leaning forward in his seat. "I love you, Brynn McKae…please love, do not die so soon after I have merely grasped the surface of what love is…please Brynn, come back to me."

_I love you Nuada…_The thought flickered and faded as it crossed over to him.

The machines beeped a mournful tune, mocking him. The heart monitor flat lined and Nuada's heart sank. With wet eyes, he pulled the monitor off to silence the beep. He scooped Brynn up into his arms and held her tightly against him, burying his face against her dark hair.

Just as quickly as she had entered into his life, she was gone…

"We will part ways, little angel…until the next life…" Nuada whispered, against her hair. "Unless…" He trailed off and let the tears fall.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: There. I did it. She's dead…Or is she? What does our favorite elf prince have in store? Well, if there's a sequel we'll find out, won't we? Of course, I could always write an epilogue to give you more of him and Brynn, but she's dead, so I don't know how that'll work out. And didn't you love Noemi? She's so cute! Yes, I think there might be an epilogue, but only if I get enough reviews. So here's what you do, review me and I'll think about how to write this epilogue. **

**My thanks go out to all the reviewers of the story whose encouragement has made me smile. You know who you are, so smile. And to the people who have tried to bring me down, thanks for making me a stronger person – I took your words and I have made them reminders of what I should not let get me down. You are all helpful and I thank you. So please continue to review. Thanks. ~Scarlet**


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Abraham Sapien walked with a sense of urgency through the halls of the Bureau complex with Nuala rushing by his side. Abe had to find _him _because he had taken something away that Abe could not let him take. The bed where she almost certainly had died laid empty and a grieving mother sat crying in the room with no body of her beloved child. Of his precious friend. Of his _Brynn pet._

"Nuada!" Abraham called, seeing the shadow of the man move ahead. "Nuada Silverlance, stop this instant!"

The shadow turned and the man came into view, carrying a covered body. His amber eyes smoldered as they looked at the blue man, but Abraham could see the pain in those eyes. Pain not brought by the hands of an angel of death that had been banished to Hell, but by the loss of a love briefly shared.

"What is it that you want Abraham Sapien?" Nuada demanded, barely casting a glance at his sister.

"Brynn's body," Abe said, taking a step forward. "Please, her mother wishes to have her daughter buried in a Christian ceremony."

"She has not been dead more than fifteen minutes and already her mother moves on," Nuada commented, shifting Brynn's lifeless body slightly as if to make her more comfortable in his arms. "How quick a human wishes to put the noble in the past and take up a new creature in their stead." His eyes narrowed. "I will not have my love put in a cold, metal box, buried in the cold ground where people tread. Where the world will forget her and her kind heart…Tell me, Abraham. Did her sacrifice mean nothing to you?"

Abraham reached out and took hold of Nuala's hand. "Her sacrifice was made to protect those she loved. She wanted to guarantee you a life, Nuada. Do not take away her body and leave her mother with nothing. Her mother needs closure."

"And she shall find it," Nuada stated, turning away slightly. "Brynn Leandra McKae will not be gone from this world long. No, I shall have her back amongst the living in a short while." He looked at Abe in challenge. "Do you dare wish to challenge a man who has nothing to lose, but a worthless life?"

"It is not worthless!" Nuala protested, stepping forward. "Brother, please! Look to your lover! See what she has done for you! She has given you life -"

"To save hers in return," Nuada cut across her. He looked down at the covered face of his beloved angel Halfling. "The world shall be poorer if she does not grace its land or fly in its skies. I shall not let her die for a world that will not see the sacrifice her hands hath wrought."

"Do not take her from her mother," Abraham repeated quietly.

"Abraham Sapien, do you not know how Brynn loved you?" Nuada inquired, fixing a burning gaze on the man to which he spoke. "One of her last thoughts before she slipped into the darkness was of you. You and my beloved sister. She wanted you to experience peace and happiness for many years to come, for she had never witnessed such happiness and love that flowed from you when you were in the presence of my sister. She knew that without her sacrifice, my sister would die with me and so would your happiness. Brynn might have lived had she not been concerned for your happiness, for your heart…

"And I, barely grasping onto this kind of love for more than a week's time, have lost it with one sacrifice. One last noble act from an angel of death, of all creatures to have walked this earth, and I have no love to show for it. What happiness I may have felt for at last finding the other half of my heart is dead, grown cold with the empty shell that was my love." He looked to his sister now. "I have found love, sister. I have found it and it was gone before I could name the word aloud to her. See for yourself, dear sister that I have grown as greedy as the humans. I crave the love of the Halfling in my arms and I feel the desire to share that love with her. Do you not wish for my heart to warn, dear sister?"  
Nuala bowed her head slightly. "Brother, I wish you much warmth and love, but it does not change the fact that you're fated mate is dead. How do you expect to love that which cannot express love back?"

The shadow of a smile appeared on the pale face of the dark prince. "She will love back. She will live again, dear sister."  
Nuala's face took on a frightful expression, one that Abe didn't like. "Brother, you cannot ask that creature of evil to bring your Brynn McKae back!"

"I must." Nuada turned as if dismissing them and took a step away into the shadows once more.

"Have you not learned the evil that preys upon the good inside of Brynn McKae?" Nuala demanded, breaking away from Abe. "Her father's black dahlia nearly overtook her soul with the evil of his heart. Now will you condemn her soul once more to the evil just to satisfy the longing in your heart?"  
"There is no other choice, Nuala." Nuada said hesitating. "What evil is borne into her soul can be cleansed away by your new family when they receive her into their arms again, alive."  
"Is this what Brynn would have wanted?" Abe asked, staring at the back of the man he had once hated. "Would she want you to put an evil mark in her soul just so you could have her again?"

"Brynn would have wanted us to be together." Nuada stated with a sharp edge to his voice. "Do not claim to know what is right when you have experienced no loss..."

"You are wrong Nuada," Abe whispered. "I have lost a daughter today. Brynn was the child that loved me unconditionally from the moment she first saw me and I have loved her as a father would. Her death hurts me as much as the time when I lost Nuala. I do know the loss of a love briefly shared and I know the pain that comes with it, but I also know Brynn. I know her more than she even knew herself…" He paused, swallowing his grief when it threatened to overtake him. "I know she would not want to lose herself to the evil that you would ask to save her."

"Then, would you bear the pain of the loss once more?" Nuada inquired, turning slightly to look at Abe once more. "Would you lose your fated love again to keep the soul of your child unblemished, to help unite the love we share in your Heaven?"

Abe stared at him, unable to say anything. Nuala drew back, her eyes lowered, touching Abe's arm with a soft hand. He knew the answer to the question, but did not have the voice to make it heard. It did not seem to matter though, for Nuada already knew the answer.

"You would not." Nuada stated, turning his back once more. "Then let me do what I believe is right for the person that I love, Abraham Sapien. Let me experience that love again and I shall allow you to experience it with my beloved sister."

Abe hesitated. "What am I to tell the others?"  
"Tell them that their angel Halfling will return to them, alive and whole." Nuada faded into the shadows. "And do not fear, I shall keep her safe."

Abe waited until he could no longer feel the presence of Nuada before falling against a wall. Nuala moved to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Abraham?" Nuala asked her voice soft even for her.

"We must let him go," Abe whispered, his voice hitching slightly with his grief. "He is acting out of love, but…"  
"Brynn McKae's heart will be blackened if that creature of evil consents to bring her back..."  
Abe nodded solemnly. "We can only hope that we'll be strong enough to save her when that time comes…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: And so here is the final scene of **_**Until You Love Me. **_**It's more or less setting up for a sequel which I may get around to writing soon, but you see, I have a dozen or so sequels that I have to write for other fandoms, so don't expect me to get around to this one as fast as you like. I already have ideas for this sequel, so there's no worry there. Please read and review and I'll do my best to get back to you in a timely manner. Thanks! ~Scarlet**


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